Power Rangers: First Omega
by Comet Warrior
Summary: The multiverse is in crisis.  The eight Celestial Rangers are needed to stop the Eternal Darkness from absorbing the Great Power and keeping the multiverse from going to blazes.  It's up to the Omega Ranger to find the others... before it's too late.
1. Alpha and Omega

**Power Rangers: First Omega by Comet Warrior**

**Chapter One: Alpha and Omega**

I don't own Power Rangers. I own any original characters of my own design, though.

The multiverse. Long fantasized about by theorists and scientists with nothing better to do than wonder what might be, in reality, it's not that much to write home about. Just your basic black starfield with odd, twisting beams of light, all interwoven into a unique pattern that made the universes possible. Somehow, whatever being had spent their time making sure that no twisting beam of light ever impacted another- there might be some jostling occasionally- sure, Mu was gone now, but who'd remember them in a few hundred years?

'_And as long as I keep telling myself that, maybe I won't die of boredom.'_ Wandering the halls with nothing better to do, the lady Illumina- Grand Sage of Time, the Multiverse, and Everything (she had added the last part herself out of boredom one day)- padded around in an old comfortable robe and pair of well-worn bunny slippers. Being able to take any female shape she wanted was only amusing to a degree- for the last five thousand years, she'd been left alone in the vast complex known for ages as Crystal Forest, so named for the odd crystalline quartz oak trees that grew around the compound. Filled with an odd mix of junk, magical trinkets, technology, and old reading material, Crystal Forest was nothing like it had been back in its heyday.

'_Five thousand years since my last visitor, since I last saw anyone at all besides myself walking the halls. Oh, they sure needed me the last time the time streams were threatened, but ever since I collected the artifacts I was supposed to get, nobody apparently wants to spend time with an old fogey like me any more. I don't want to study any more stupid dusty tomes. Even that wizard with his magic coins heading to that duel with Little Miss Nutjob promised to visit once the matter was settled, after he dropped off that extra coin. 'I'll only need five- keep that one for when the time comes.' Phooey. It was just a trinket to keep me busy while he got the heck out of here._

Wandering into a large room, Illumina stared out through a great wall of windows. This was her Observation Room, a place where she could keep watch on the weave of the multiverse, keeping everything in order- and trying to pick up old broadcast signals on her old, aging viewing equipment. But the main focus of the room was a small magical device perched upon a great wooden table. It didn't really look like much, but the Pathway Weaver could tell the condition of any stream in the multiverse, and even plot its further travel. After all, even a timestream took time to get somewhere.

Warming up a cup of her special brew- coffee beans snuck from four different timelines while their original owners blamed wildlife or other people, Illumina booted up the Pathway Weaver and let it go off on its own merry way, scanning the mass of writhing light that she had 'volunteered' for back in the day. It wasn't her fault that she had been a little late to the meeting; having to sort out a crash between a tyrannosaurus and a minotaur when both drivers had insisted they had the right of way until she'd had to use her powers to slam their heads together to get a word in edgewise had simply taken a little time. But the damage had been done. While the others got to go down to the multiverse and actually have lives, she'd been stuck with the position of Sage of Time- and the check for the food, if her memory served her.

Sipping her coffee, she turned on the viewing system and tried to focus in on some transmissions that had bled out of the multiverse. There were precious few today- she ignored most of them, but a certain few caught her eye…

'_Hmmm… I haven't seen fashion this bad since someone tried to convince Heaven's Garden the au naturel look was in. Admittedly, it might have looked better had the advocate actually been in any kind of shape to make it work…_'

Collapsing into her old chair, Illumina set to the task that had been given her all those years ago- make sure the timelines didn't crash together like a bunch of student drivers and tear apart the multiverse. But after a few years, she'd learned that she was really just here as a caretaker- if they'd simply tossed her a broom and mop, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, but to build the job up as some sort of cosmic grand duty that could spell the difference between universal harmony and endless darkness? That was mean, even for the Defender.

Illumina shrugged. The Defender had disappeared off somewhere, a few hundred years ago. His power signature no longer showed up on her scanner, and she strongly suspected he was lying on a beach somewhere, telling lies to impress the locals for free drinks. That actually sounded pretty good- the multiverse was quiet, nobody's made a move even somewhat threatening in two thousand years, there was something chirping like a bird behind her, the coffee was getting-

The chirping sound continued. A bird wouldn't have survived the emptiness between the timelines, much less had the know-how for travel past the temporal horizon. Grumbling about how Crystal Forest had started to fall apart, she hauled herself out of her old chair and sprinted back to the table, bunny slippers and all.

The Pathway Weaver had started chirping, but this soon escalated into a full-blown siren, getting louder and louder until the force of the noise blew Illumina's blonde hair back with the force. Silencing it with a twist of a dial, she turned on the projector portion of the Weaver- and had to smack it until it focused. Once the picture stabilized, her face grew more solemn as she read the findings.

Seven timestreams, only yesterday running through their assigned courses, had deviated from their paths and were now traveling in an ever-narrowing course, intended to bring them together at one point in exactly nine months. The resulting crash would likely reduce that entire portion of the multiverse to dark matter, not to mention everyone crossing their fingers that the entire thing didn't just explode from the residual energy.

Pulling a notepad and a pen from the pocket of her ratty old robe, she made a note of the name of the seven timestreams: Heaven's Garden, Wolf's Watch, Atlantis, Azure Cove, Shell Harbor, Star's Paradise, and Dryad's Arbor. Then she ran, as fast as she had in the last few thousand years, for her private chambers.

As soon as she opened the door, torches sprang into life. They kept popping into life until she could see the table's entirety. Nine inlaid symbols decorated the massive table's top, inlaid against the whitest wood that could have been found. Illumina sighed as she glanced around, memories of the last time the table had been filled to capacity. Yes, she remembered now. The Alpha Ranger, the first one to come out of the Great Power, had assembled a team of warriors from the timestreams to combat the Eternal Darkness, and had succeeded in driving it- and its headquarters- into the event horizon of a black hole, where it had been presumed lost. The others had drifted apart after that, returning to lives left behind, but each carrying the power granted them to make sure their homes would be safe.

She picked up a deck of cards covered in strange symbols- her Tarot of the Multiverse; she called it- and quickly focused her power upon the cards until they flew out of her hands, shuffling in an intricate pattern through the air as she quietly wove her power through the seven wayward timestreams. Searching, seeking, the strands went out- and returned, infusing the deck with energy. The shuffling stopped, and then almost half the deck exploded away from the other cards, settling down upon the table in eight sets of three cards. Catching her breath, Illumina watched as each set in turn revealed their picture sides, a quiet mystical voice explaining the meaning…

'_Heaven's Garden, where it all began… the Huntress stalks quietly through the flora and villages, searching for her prey, her dark work incomplete until the death of the one who will lead… against her, the Lotus Fairy dances among the flowers, using its skills to hide the true path and confound evil…'_

'_Wolf's Watch, bastion of order among a chaotic city… the Doll Master escapes from confinement, gathering forces that have taxed this world's warriors before and return to find out the location of the one who will lead… they are stymied by the wily Rogue, whose tricks, traps and intellect confound the evil of this time… for now.'_

'_Atlantis, land beneath the waves… the Demon Princess desires a new toy, having her sights set upon the inhabitants of this sacred water city, she looks for the one who will lead, wishing to make him her own… from up in the sky, however, the Queen of the Spires looks down upon her, her allies able to stop the dark forces currently…'_

'_Azure Cove, a land in turmoil… a Masked Ninja prowls the streets, looking for the one who will lead, hoping to stop the resistance before it even starts… only to keep running into the forces of the Honorable Warrior, who seeks to stop the destruction…_

'_Shell Harbor, beautiful land of nature… the Dark Priestess's work has created a streak of darkness through this unspoiled land… her forces seek the one who will lead, so she may present him to the one she currently serves as a gift… the Avenging Angel battles her forces as best she can with her comrades, but the fight could go either way…'_

'_Star's Paradise, a haven amongst the stars… the Ant Queen, her forces growing by the hour, keeps the defenders of this timeline busy, but thanks to the Amazon's great strength and will, they have managed to keep this time from falling to darkness…'_

'_Dryad's Arbor, land of wood and magic… the Lich battles the forces of light with his dark powers, battering the boundary between mundane and magical with such ferocity that it takes the efforts of a team of magical defenders- and the Wild Sprite- to keep the darkness from claiming this timeline.'_

'_Crystal Forest, eternal watchtower of the multiverse, the last line of defense against the Endless Darkness that wants to do nothing more than consume the Great Power held within… you must prepare the compound. All focuses upon the Omega- as goes he, as goes the multiverse. Guide him, train him, supply him with the equipment needed to stop the Eternal Darkness… but never forget that sometimes the simplest fight can have the most complex solution.'_

The cards clattered to the table as Illumina quietly contemplated the meanings. The seven battles of the timelines had come up before, and she had quit doing the readings simply because she could almost lip-sync, word-for-word, what the deck would tell her. But if the Omega really was on its way…

She quickly rose from the chair and with a thought, changed her clothes from a ratty robe and her beloved slippers into an outfit more suited to a sage- a simple dress with tasteful decorations over it, as well as boots and gloves. Striding with purpose, she walked through the halls, watching as the Great Power surging through the conduits of the complex awakened equipment and technology that hadn't been activated in a few thousand years. Some of it still worked perfectly, but most of it simply gave off error messages, foul-smelling clouds of smoke, or failed to turn on at all.

Eventually, she reached a massive, ornate door that was bound by a seal… as she watched, pure, amorphous morphing energy flowed into the seal, making it shimmer all colors of the rainbow… and the designs started to flow inside it. It passed through the nine runes Illumina had seen on the table, ending upon a curved letter she had never seen. After some thought, she realized what it was- her Greek wasn't as good as it had been in the past, what with no reason to practice it…

It was the symbol for Omega.

Creaking open, the door opened for the first time in five thousand years. Everything was covered in ankle-deep dust, but light slowly started piercing through the dirt and refuse. Seven recessed areas spread around the circular room revealed strange and eldritch equipment, as well as some mundane things. But Illumina's attention was drawn to the massive chunk of crystal hovering in the air above the room's center. She saw flickers of fire within, streaks of orange and red and other colors that filled the crystal until it looked like it was almost alive…

With a groan, it dropped to the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces, the strange rock vanishing into the darkness as it rested upon the ground, away from the figure that had apparently been inside it. It groaned, sat up, and scratched… his head, yes, it was definitely a male. He wore simple clothes- a shirt and a pair of light shorts, but nothing more. He stood up and stretched, wiping the sleep from his eyes, until his brown eyes caught sight of Illumina.

"Uh… what's going on? I was having a pretty good dream before somebody just upended me and dropped me here…" he sighed, as Illumina simply shook her head.

"Child, you're here because you're needed. Have you any idea of where you are?"

The young man on the floor closed his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts. It took him a while, but he managed to piece a few things together.

"…it's starting again, isn't it? The Darkness has risen again, and he's got a few plots past us while everything's been turned off. "

Illumina quietly grinned to herself. At least this one actually remembered some of his training from inside the Great Power.

"What name were you given, young one? I am called Illumina, Sage of Time and the Multiverse. I guess you could say I'm the one in charge of this little operation. Now, hurry up, out with your name. We have much work to do."

Dusting himself off, the young man ran fingers though his short brown hair and smiled.

"…it gave me the name of 'Sean'- I don't know why, but it might have had some meaning for someone on the other side…"

Illumina rolled her eyes after she turned around. They'd have to pick the name of the Alpha. It must have been for simplicity's sake, she realized- most of the old equipment and databases- those that still worked, anyways- would answer to anyone with that name.

"Well, Sean, there's no time to explain. We're on a time limit- if we don't solve this in nine standard months; we're looking at half the multiverse ceasing to exist after reality's worst traffic accident. We need to get to work finding the others."

Sean quirked an eyebrow. "Others? I'm not doing this alone? "

Again, Illumina rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't last a second against the hordes arrayed against you if you went alone. Trust me. I'm a Sage, and I'm saying you need to find the other seven Celestial Rangers. Only then do you have a snowball's chance against the Eternal Darkness. So just relax and let's get going. The first timeline that needs saving hasn't really been targeted yet, so hopefully we can save it without too much trouble. You'll meet your first team in Azure Cove."

Half-dragging Sean over to a table on the west wall of the room, Illumina shook the dust off a leather uniform- a bodysuit accented with orange and a small symbol of a setting sun. It faded away as she pressed it to Sean's chest, and then she grabbed his arm and attached a small device around his wrist.

Immediately, Sean fell to his knees, a wave of nausea threatening to wrench his empty stomach as memories and skills seemed to flood his brain, backing themselves up to his mind like some kind of mystical zip drive. He found himself with the sudden urge to get outside and get to the beach, or ride his board.

"…I see they never explained to you about the 'personas' you'd be assuming… pretty much, there have been records created in all of the timelines for you- just in case this happened, we can easily breach the temporal horizon and get you set up there, such as we're doing now."

In the alcove, the back wall suddenly started shimmering, and Sean could see a small park through the glimmering crystal.

"In this timeline, consider yourself a student of Twilight Ninjitsu. I am your teacher, Sensei Dawn. You're the last of your kind, but I'll teach anyone you think could help us- I just hope you don't get yourself killed out there. You'll know what to do when the time comes."

She gave a gentle nudge to Sean, and he walked forward, stuck his hand through the crystal, and then yelped as he was sucked through, transformed into a beam of light as he streaked across the emptiness and slowly breached the temporal horizon of the stream known as "Azure Harbor".

Illumina, standing in the room with the window wall, quietly watches Sean's energy disappear into the light of the timeline.

"…and so it begins. Find the Honorable Warrior, Sean. Only with his help will you overcome the Masked Ninja."

* * *

Author's Note: Well, there's the first chapter. Feel free to ask me anything, but try not to spoil anything if you think you know the direction the story's going.


	2. Boxing BoppARoo

**Power Rangers: First Omega By: Comet Warrior**

**Act One: Azure Cove**

**Chapter Two: Boxing Bopp-A-Roo**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. I just own some of the original characters.**

The space between timelines is often a quiet, timeless place- much like Crystal Forest itself. Apart from the occasional broadcast signal, stray toy rocket, and an amazing amount of old socks, you're not going to find much. Sean was enjoying his trip towards the Azure Cove timeline as he wove in and out of the weave, until he found himself running parallel to the timeline. The beam of light slowed down until they were moving at the same speed, and then Sean felt a slight pressure as they merged through the temporal horizon. As he dropped into real space, the light beam seemed to disappear, and he caught a few sights he didn't expect.

The warm sun beating down upon his face. The smell of the ocean. Two figures sparring upon a beach, approximately three hundred feet below him and five hundred feet away from him. The fact he was wearing the leather uniform Illumina had given him… and that he was now dropping at a fast rate towards the ocean below. Sean barely had time to give a surprised yell before he hit the water hard, sinking like a stone. One of the last things he thought of before falling unconscious was wondering if he had gained the knowledge to swim.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Blue Bay Harbor, Ninja Ops**_

_**July 24**_

The first thing Sean heard as he awoke was footsteps… and voices. They were somewhat close, so he did what came natural- tried to keep his eyes closed and his ears open.

"So let me get this straight- there's a kickboxing robot kangaroo running around Blue Bay Harbor, not to mention some guy in a ninja uniform that apparently fell out of the sky near town, and they're out there playing 'Follow the Leader?"

That voice was definitely female. Sean cracked an eye and caught a glimpse of a blonde in a uniform like his, only hers was lined with a bright aqua blue.

"We need help, Sensei. Something… sensei-like."

That was from a dopey-looking guy sitting behind a laptop. He also wore a uniform, only his trim was bright yellow.

"They must both learn that one of the best qualities in a leader is knowing when to follow." Sean didn't know where this voice came from.

"Okay… do you know who this guy is, Sensei? He just dropped out of the sky and hit the waves, to hear Shane and Hunter say it." The blonde's voice became louder as she approached wherever Sean was lying.

"The color of his uniform and his insignia mark him as a Starlight Ninja student. They are one of the most secretive ninja schools in existence. Not even I know exactly where their school is located- or the identity of their head teacher, Sensei Dawn. I would imagine that he either fell from Lothor's ship or has been on the run for the last few weeks."

Sean half snorted before he could control himself, and presumed that he had hidden the action well enough to keep listening in on the conversation.

"But that is a tale best heard from the lips of the one who has been listening for the last few minutes while trying to feign sleep. Open your eyes. You are among friends. In the future, you would be better served by having your face buried in the pillow."

Holding back a crack, Sean slowly sat up, opening his eyes as he tried to stop the room from spinning.

"…sorry. I didn't know what you guys were up to… it's just been a while since I was among people I could talk of my training around. My name's Sean, Sean Renwood. I'm from… well, far away. I don't remember much of the past few weeks, but I remember Sensei Dawn pinning this thing around my wrist and threatening me with solo cleanup duty at the Starlight Academy if I lost it. I don't know what this thing is… or even what's going on anymore."

The blonde smiled and brought over a cup of water while another young man whistled. "Sounds like a pretty extreme story. Not often a Starlight Ninja would come down from wherever. My brother remembers one staying at the Thunder Academy once when we were young. We kept trying to stay around him, mostly because we wanted to see if the legends were true- that they only appear if there's a need for them to be there." This guy was clad in a uniform as well, but his bore a deep navy blue trim, as well as a different insignia.

Sean accepted the cup with a grateful nod and sipped some water.

"This is the Wind Ninja Academy- or rather, what's left of it. I take it they haven't introduced themselves yet?" A new person walked into the room from a doorway off to one side. He seemed to have a preference for the color green, as it colored his shirt and cargo pants.

"My name's Cameron, Cameron Wantanabe, but feel free to call me Cam. Dad's the sensei here, but he's… indisposed at the moment. The guy in the yellow there, that's Dustin. He's an Earth ninja. Seated beside him is Blake- a Thunder ninja from out of town. She's Tori- a Water ninja. I have to admit, you did give us quite a shock showing up like that."

He held out a hand, and Sean clasped it, shaking hands. He awkwardly stood up, leaning against a wall until he regained his center.

"Well, I guess I can count myself lucky at falling out of the sky landed me among friends."

At that moment, something beeped at a large computer terminal on the other side of the room. Cam ran over and hit a button on the keyboard, and a voice filled the room.

"_Cam! That kangaroo clown's back for Round Two! We need backup!"_

Tori, Blake, and Dustin looked at each other and got up, standing behind Cam. Sean made to join them, but felt a light tap to his stomach, sending him back to a seated position on the bed. Feeling something land on his lap, he looked down and saw a small, furry animal staring back up at him.

"Ummm… did someone lose a Hamtaro plush dressed in a funny outfit?" Sean cracked with a grin, before the small animal seemed to sigh and again jumped into motion, tapping Sean on the bridge of the nose with a small paw.

"Frivolity is needed in this time of crisis, Sean, but not at the expense of one's teacher. You three, go and help Shane and Hunter. I have much to discuss with our resident Twilight student." Hearing these words come from the little furball on his lap made Sean double-take.

Tori and Dustin both went through a series of the same gestures and gave a short shout of "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form! HA!" and were surrounded by bursts of bright light. Blake made a few different movements, but his cry of "Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" was clearly heard as well. When the light dimmed, Sean stared at the three, now clad in brightly-colored uniforms with helmets that hid their faces. They disappeared in three brightly colored blurs as they disappeared off to help their friends. Cam watched them go with a sigh.

"Now, come join me at the table. I will help you understand our current situation." The little guinea pig was talking like that Illumina lady, Sean realized, so he hazarded a guess as to what role it played around here.

"You… you wouldn't happen to be the sensei around here, would you? I know it's a sign of a concussion from earlier, but your voice reminds me of the guy who apparently knew I wasn't sleeping…"

The guinea pig seemed to nod as Cam kept an eye on the battle. "Very astute. I am Sensei Wantanabe, head teacher of this ninja school. You are a Twilight student, apparently held in very high regards if you were given one of those." Sensei pointed to Sean's wrist, and Sean placed his arm out on the table to get a better look at the device. It seemed to be in the shape of a setting or rising sun, with a strange disc where the sun would be in the design.

"That is a Starlight Ninja Morpher. Normally, they are only given to those students that exhibit the best skills in the academy, but in these troubled times, it is good to see another ally. Do you have a battle vehicle, as well?"

Sean thought for a second, implanted memories kicking in. "If there are any left… they'd be at the old Zord storage bay, back at the Twilight Academy. The only problem being that I don't remember where it is, exactly…"

"…which shouldn't be a problem," Cam finished. "Let me borrow the Power Disc in your morpher, Sean." Sean popped out the orange disc and handed it over, watching as Cam stuck it into a small device attached to his computer and a map popped up over half of the computer screen, the other side showing a live feed of a battle, and Sean recognized Tori, Dustin and Blake as they joined the battle. Cam popped the orange disc back out of the device and handed it back to Sean.

"The mainframe will scan for a power signal like your morpher's. With any luck, that should lead us straight to the Starlight Academy's Zord hangar. I just hope there's one there, it'd be nice to have another Zord to keep the others from getting beat up so much."

"Very well, Cam. Keep an eye on the battle, please." Sensei walked across the tabletop and stood in front of Sean as he re-inserted his disc back into his morpher. "Our situation is this: an evil ninja from space, calling himself Lothor, has been attacking ninja academies all over the planet. More than likely, he is responsible for the destruction of the Starlight Academy, as well as the attacks on the Thunder and Wind ninja schools. Without ninja to stop him, Lothor will use his forces to take over the world. He counts many evil space aliens and mutants among his army, as well as hordes of Kelzaks, evil mutants given basic training in Dark Ninjitsu and unleashed upon the world. We are the only thing standing in the way of Lothor, and he has not let up. I know that this is rude of me to ask, being as you have only just arrived, but may I ask for your support in helping us prevent Lothor from fulfilling his plan to take over the world?"

Sean downed the rest of the water and leaned back, listening to the joints in his back crack and pop back into place. This was where he was supposed to be, no doubt. Maybe the first Celestial Ranger was among these five…

"…after you guys pull me out of the ocean and save my life, you expect me to refuse?" Sean cracked a grin as he stood up. "Just show me how to activate this thing."

An explosion from the computer's speakers drew Sean's attention, and he looked over to see the five Rangers on the ground, when the camera switched to reveal three new figures- two girls, one with pink braids, looking bored, the other clapping her hands, exclaiming that she'd apparently successfully used that power for the first time and was amazed that it had worked. The third, however, was dressed in black, and stood between them, apparently anticipating his time to strike.

"Hmmm… your enthusiasm is well-timed. Even though information on the Starlight Academy is thin, one of the bits I do have is their morpher activation phrase. I believe stating the phrase 'Starlight Storm, Ranger Form' before activating it will engage the powers locked within it. Cam and I will keep looking for information while you are gone. Your place is with the others. Now, hurry!"

Sean stood as Sensei quickly jumped to a shelf stacked full with scrolls, and Cam gave him a grin. "They're at the docks. I'll patch a directional guide into your helmet to guide you in. Better get going."

Sean held his arm out in front of himself and smiled. He made up a few gestures on the fly, and gave the call.

"Starlight Storm, Ranger Form! HA!"

It was as if a bucket of orange paint had suddenly exploded around him. He could briefly see a setting sun as he stood on a red stone mesa, as a cloud of sunbeams shot down and applied an orange suit to his body. The sun sank down, becoming a helmet, which settled onto his head.

"Power of Twilight!" he said instinctively, and then before he knew it, he was ninja-streaking out the door and off to battle.

* * *

As Sean approached, he could see that the rangers weren't faring too well. The weird black ninja had managed to divide them apart, and even the two weird girls had been having some luck against his new friends. He reached up with both hands and pulled a pair of slender ninja swords from sheaths on his back and headed torwards the robot kangaroo. Searching for a battle-cry, Sean thought quickly, and decided upon a little cartoon mouse from this time's past that his memories provided for him.

As a result, he rushed up behind the Bopp-a-roo and gave a cry of "YEE-HA!" as he swept both blades up in a rising arc, using the underhanded grip the memories provided as his fighting style. The robot kangaroo jumped high into the air in surprise, and then crashed to the ground. The two red rangers on the ground looked up, but Sean was off on his way again. He sped on, shoulder-checking the two girls aside- hitting the pink-haired one first, who landed with a shout of "WATCH IT, JERK!" and then plowing through the brown-haired one, who landed with a yelp. Behind him, he could hear the sound of a stroke of lightning plowing through what he imagined was the robot kangaroo, so he sped back and stopped next to the three Wind Rangers.

"Nice to see you back on your feet so fast!" Sean grinned at Tori's greeting, and then turned to the four opponents who were gathering. The others called their blasters, and a quick memory jolt lead to Sean finding himself uttering the words "Twilight Laser!" and finding an orange sun-motif laser blaster in his hand. Following the example of the others, he braced himself as the pink-haired girl created her own shield.

"Not so fast… you think HER shield was good? Try mine!"

Under his helmet, Sean squinted as Tori remarked about the shield's possible strength. He watched as they combined their weapons to create something called the Thunderstorm Cannon- and didn't butt in. It was quite possible, after all, that Wind, Thunder, and Starlight technology just wouldn't be compatible. Maybe he'd ask Cam to look into it…

The girls and the black ninja suddenly bailed, but not before Sean caught glares from all three.

'I guess I made some new friends today!' he cracked to himself, as the Bopp-a-roo suddenly found himself flying solo. The other rangers fired the cannon, and Sean added in a beam from the laser, which might not have had as much of an effect as he wanted, but he assumed that they had weakened the shield enough to let the main cannon blast through.

As the parts of the Boxing Bopp-a-roo landed around them, he found himself surrounded by the other rangers, getting bombarded with pats on the back and questions.

"Look, guys, how about we talk later, back at the base? I just don't think secret ninja schools are the kind of thing you stand around and talk about in plain view…"

"Yeah, you do have a point. Maybe first one back gets to pick dinner?" Dustin suggested from behind his yellow helmet.

Sparks from the sky drew their attention, and in a flash of light, the Bopp-a-roo was restored back to life, only he seemed to be a few stories taller. Shane raised his communicator.

"Cam! Zord time!" he called, and before long the reply came back.

'_On the way! Sean, sorry but no luck yet on the Starlight hangar. Dad says for you to return to Ninja Ops while the others handle this.'_

Sean kicked the ground, but felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, at least you get to pick what's on the menu tonight… but don't worry. We'll find the hangar." Sean looked up at Tori's words, and nodded.

"Okay. You guys take care of yourselves- and bring the chopsticks, I'm thinking Chinese."

He waved to the others and began the trip back to Ops, watching as the Hawk Zord swooped in overhead.

* * *

Skidding to a stop inside Ops, Sean popped his helmet off and found a seat next to Cam, who looked up and nodded as he moved aside to make room so Sean could watch.

"Feeling left out?" he asked, while tapping on the keyboard.

"Kind of. I mean, I don't think I'm really ready for a Zord of my own yet, but at the same time…"

"…you hate not being able to support your friends in battle?" Cam finished for him.

"Well… I was going to say 'it's a giant robot, and what guy in his right mind wouldn't want to drive one?', but I think Sensei would like your answer better." Sean finished, somewhat sheepishly.

They both watched as the large version of the Bopp-a-roo managed to knock around the Wind and Thunder Megazords, until Shane had the idea to see about combining the powers of the Megazords. Cam hit a few buttons, and the Minizord was called forth. It used its parts to allow the two Megazords to combine into one, and the Thunderstorm Megazord used its Lion Laser to blast the Bopp-a-roo into a pile of blackened and half-melted metal scrap.

* * *

Later, after Dustin had returned with the food, they sat around (and in Sensei's case, on) the low table, eating food and talking. Most of the questions and answers were aimed at Sean, who felt a lot better after a good-sized portion of sweet-and-sour pork.

"So, Sean, what do you guys do for fun up at the Starlight Academy?" This was from Shane. Sean had learned that he had been one of the two who had helped fish him out of the ocean, and had thanked him earlier while waiting for Dustin to return.

"Well… a little of everything. Personally, I skate and surf- better at skating than I am surfing, and even then I'm not very good."

"You skate?" Shane seemed to brighten up at those words and he smiled. "Maybe I can help you with the whole 'staying-on-the-board' thing. I'm pretty good at it, and it'd rock to have someone to hit the parks with."

"…and if you ever feel like getting wet, I wouldn't mind showing you some good beginner surf locations around town," Tori spoke up.

"Well… the only problem is… all my gear got trashed when the school was attacked. Sensei informed me before she sent me here that it's lucky I never talked her into having the school spring for a few motocross bikes. I wanted to learn, but never really had the cash to get started- it's not exactly a sport anyone can jump into- there's a fairly hefty price tag just to get started." Sean leaned back and caught a fortune cookie tossed at him by Blake.

"Definitely. It took Blake and I a year to save up enough cash for our first bikes. I get the feeling that Cam will want you to at least have access to a Tsunami Cycle- I'll show you them sometime- so I think you might want to get the basics down, and we'll go from there." This was from the last guy Sean hadn't met before- Hunter. He was wearing a uniform with the same symbol as Blake, making him a Thunder Ninja, but his color was a dark red.

"Okay, guys, what are your fortunes? Sean, read yours. You know, in celebration of being new to the team and all!" Sean could only grin at Dustin's cheerfulness. It was infectious. He opened the wrapper and cracked open the cookie, pulling the paper from among the pieces of cookie.

"'An unexpected event will soon make your life more exciting.' …you know, sometimes it's scary how accurate fortune cookies can be." Another cracking could be heard, and they looked across the table to see Shane opening his fortune cookie. "'New friendships bring new opportunities for happiness.' Hm. Maybe after this battle is over, we can raise money by selling a bunch of Sensei's sayings to a fortune cookie company?"

They laughed, and Sensei's mouth quirked as he chewed on a steamed carrot dipped in a little soy sauce.

"Maybe. But for now, a little wisdom. 'Those who make light of their teacher's wisdom can find themselves on a five-mile jog after dinner.' After you're finished eating, Shane."

Sean leaned back and smiled. Sensei had given him permission to crash in Ops for a couple of days while the others looked around the city for a place he could live. Already, he liked his new surroundings. But in the back of his mind, he still heard Illumina's voice.

"_Nine months, Sean. That's all we have to stop this."_

* * *

**Author's Note: **A quick shout-out to Pink Wolf Princess, my first reviewer! You know, honestly sometimes I didn't think First Omega would ever get off the ground. It's been in planning for some time, and now that it's finally underway, it's just amazing. Anyways, read and review- I want to hear what you guys have to say!

Comet Warrior


	3. Pork Chopped

**Power Rangers: First Omega By: Comet Warrior**

**Act One: Azure Cove**

**Chapter Three: Pork Chopped**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. I just own some of the original characters.**

**Blue Bay Harbor: Ninja Ops**

It was a quiet afternoon at Ops, and Sean had managed to keep himself from making a comment about how quiet it was. He'd caught on pretty quickly after the first time- "A ninja takes the time between attacks to make sure their skills are in peak condition," Sensei had commented the first time he'd said it, and the two-hour simulator session he'd assigned Sean to had left him dead on his feet. But it had also shown some gaps in his training, and as a result, he had found himself assigned to extra sparring sessions, and Blake and Tori were trying to help him there.

"Problem, gentlemen?" Sensei was seated in his open-air habitat, currently seated on a chair and looking at a television screen showing nothing but static. Quickly, Shane and Dustin emerged from under the table. Shane was faster, so he dragged Dustin along with him as they quickly ran over to a small set of plugs set in the wall, with Dustin holding a set of audio/visual cables. There was some muffled grumbling, and Sensei turned back to his small television set.

"Those who fail to install cable in time for science-fiction marathon will feel the wrath of the unhappy guinea pig…" he commented as Dustin fiddled with the plugs, seemingly nervous, until Shane reminded him Sensei was most likely kidding.

The cables were plugged in, and Sensei's TV came to life.

"You know, this seems a little low-tech… I bet Cam has a thousand channels on that thing…" Dustin said, motioning over towards Cam's usual station at the mainframe.

"How many times do we have to go over this?" Cam sighed as he came up behind Dustin. "The satellite surveillance system is NOT a home theater!"

Sean ducked under one of Tori's kicks and rolled his eyes. "…you mean they've had that conversation before?" he asked, while returning with a sweep of his own, which Tori easily stepped over.

"Seven times, now. Apparently, Cam heard a noise down here about two weeks ago and almost brained Dustin with an old computer case when he found him watching cartoons on the mainframe." Blake smiled, and shook his head as he kept an eye on the sparring match. Tori was more than a match for Sean- he'd taken the Bopp-a-roo by surprise, and he was definitely sure that he'd have a target on his back the next time a monster showed up. Evil overlords didn't take the appearance of a new foe very well, he thought, and Lothor must have had steam coming out of his ears after the way he'd treated the two girls- whom Sensei had identified as Kapri and Marah, his nieces- as well as having ruined a perfectly good battle that had been going the black ninja- or rather Zurgane, as he'd been identified.

The match went on, and it became obvious to Blake that Tori was holding back- there had been a couple of wide-open gaps in Sean's defense that would have ended up with him sprawled upon the ground after a solid shot from a Kelzak, or maybe even worse might have happened against a stronger foe.

"You know she's taking it easy on you, right?" Blake cracked a grin as Sean rolled his eyes.

"Don't let the blonde hair fool you- sorry for this, Sean…" Tori grabbed him by the arm after he'd overextended on a punch, and tossed him to the ground. Trying to keep his balance, Sean had grabbed the closest thing he could to brace himself- which had turned out to be the cable cord running to Sensei's television. Sparks erupted at both ends, and the television let out a few more sparks before finally turning off.

Sean and Tori were both speechless- Tori held her hand over her mouth, looking mortified, while Sean just sat there, frozen. Dustin offered to fix the television- an action quickly silenced by Cam. They decided to make a quick exit while everyone else was still looking over the now (hopefully still working) television.

"You guys want to head out to the skate park? I have to practice for my demo…" Shane said quietly, and Tori bit her lip.

"Actually, I was going to take Sean and Blake out- swing by Storm Chargers with Sean and maybe get him some gear to replace what he lost, and Blake's meeting Hunter there anyways, so…"

"Okay… but you're coming to my demo, right? Three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, at the skate park?" Shane's face relaxed as Tori and Sean both answered that they'd come, and then they headed out.

**Storm Chargers**

"Most of us have part-time jobs here, so if we aren't out at Ninja Ops, we'll most likely be here. C'mon in, I'll introduce you to the woman who runs the place."

Sean followed Tori and Blake inside, and watched as Hunter appeared from behind an aisle of motocross supplies and began animatedly talking with him.

"Sean! Over here!" Tori waved him over, where she was talking with a red-haired woman who seemed to be a little older than them.

"Kelly, this is Sean- he's a friend from out of town. I was hoping… maybe you'd give him a discount on some used gear since his first set got… destroyed in a house fire." Sean winced- at least she hadn't let the cat out of the bag, but it still stung that she had to lie on his behalf, even if the others had impressed on him the fact that the ninja academies had to remain secret. Something about secret traditions and the fact that they couldn't really defend the earth if they had to dodge autograph-seekers and fans all the time.

Kelly chewed her lip for a moment, and tapped her pen on her ever-present clipboard.

"Well… I might have some gear you can have for cheap… a pre-order that someone never picked up. The colors are pretty awful- bright orange on white. Last time I looked, there was a lot of stuff in there- a moto suit, a surfboard, some skate safety gear… I think I can let you have it for… let's call it a hundred-fifty, and I'll throw in a skate or surfboard, your choice."

Sean's face dropped. He didn't exactly have any money, unless Illumina had stuck a few hundred in his pocket while he had been getting ready to zoom through the space between timelines.

"Ummm… I'll think about it. Tell you what, as soon as I get my finances in order, I'll be back for it. Cash is just a little… tight right now." Kelly nodded and moved off to help another customer. Sean took the time to wander the store, looking at surfboards and other accessories. He found Tori standing near both, and Kelly was just finishing a comment.

"Hmmm… isn't the skate demo tomorrow at three?"

Tori looked shocked, having apparently forgotten the demo. He'd be there, but… Tori looked up and saw him, and Sean immediately held up his hands.

"Hey, I'm going to Shane's demo. I think you're just going to have to figure out which event you're missing- the demo or… the 'Kung Fu Movie Festival', or whatever that is."

Tori looked shocked. "…oh, boy. But what do I skip? Oh, by the way, where's your box of gear?"

"Ummm… let's head out and I'll tell you. I think I'm due for a training session back at Ops- and Sensei frowns on lateness."

As they left, however, they had no idea they were being watched…

**The Next Day: Shane's Skate Demo**

The next day was bright and sunny, and the skate demo was all it was cracked up to be. There were some semi-famous skaters signing autographs, and even some breakdancers who had signed up to give the event a bit more urban flavor. Dustin had tagged along, and Kelly was instructing Shane on what she wanted to see. Sean didn't pay much attention, but just watched silently.

"…and next on the street course is Shane Clark!" Shane took off down the course on his board, and Sean watched his friend show off his moves. The demo was going fine, and he turned around to say something to Dustin, and he saw something strange- no Tori. He waved it off, thinking she had gone to the bathroom, and watched as Shane tried one last move, but failed, falling off his board and landing hard on the ramp. Sean and Dustin both winced as suddenly, some clapping and cheering came from beside them.

"Way to go, Shane!" Tori shouted, clapping while Dustin looked at her strangely.

"He just ate it! Why are you cheering?" he asked, as Shane slowly came up to them.

"Man, I thought I had it…" he sighed as the rest of the group gave him some moral support for the next demo.

Tori offered to get them all drinks, and before Sean or anyone could offer to pay, she was gone.

"Um, is it just me, or did someone miss a class on using ninja powers in public?" Dustin asked, puzzled. Before an answer could be uttered, however, a new problem presented itself. A bunch of Kelzaks had appeared, and among them was a mousy girl in a floral-print dress.

"Yoo-hoo boys, over here!" she waved, before she paused. The Kelzaks apparently froze in thought as well, as the girl muttered "I always forget how cute they are…" to herself. Then, apparently remembering where she was, snapped at the creatures to attack them.

They defended themselves against the Kelzaks- Sean just using some simple yet effective moves to try and drop the creatures with a few strikes each, but soon found himself quickly sinking as groups of three or four of them quickly surrounded him. He took a couple of good solid hits, before stumbling on an idea. Grabbing a chair, he backpedaled until a line of the creatures formed to chase him, and then charged forward, tossing the chair to the first Kelzak. It caught it, and Sean launched into a jump kick, driving his foot into the chair and the four Kelzaks to the ground.

By this time, the others had finished dealing with their Kelzaks, and the mousy girl wandered back into the midst of them, clutching a strange cell-phone.

"Uh-oh… better go help Kapri!" she muttered, before she and the Kelzaks disappeared in a flash of light. The three ninja regrouped, and looked at each other. Something was up.

**Ninja Ops**

Sean stood with Shane and Dustin as Tori was lectured by Sensei. Apparently, the real targets had been Blake and Hunter, and both of them had been captured by whatever new monster Lothor had let loose on the city. Tori had been using her ninja powers to streak through the city, trying to make it look like she was at both the film festival and the skate demo.

"We cannot tell the future. That is why we have rules to govern the present. But perhaps all is not lost. If you had gone back to the theater, you might have been captured as well." Sensei paused. "Cam, do you have a reading on the whereabouts for this creature?"

"I've got a real hotspot on the top of the harbor tower…" he said, gazing at the four remaining Rangers. Shane led them in the morph, and with a cry of "Starlight Storm, Ranger Form!" he changed into his orange Ranger suit. Leaping into the air, a strange device formed on his back- while the other three soared through the skies on their gliders, Sean left a trail of white light in the sky as a small jetpack-like device guided him through the air. He realized he'd have to make up a name for it, and resolved to do so after they got back. Following the three Wind Ninjas, Sean kept up the pace as they headed for the harbor office tower's roof.

**Harbor Office Tower**

They landed on the tower roof, and found the monster waiting for them.

"Well, well! Nice entrance! But if you ever want to see your Thunder buddies again, you'd better follow my curly tail through the porky portal! Come on, Rangers, come and get me!" The monster disappeared through his portal, and Shane started to lead them through it, when he was interrupted by Cam via communicator.

'_Wait! Slow down, I have a lock on the portal door. It looks like it'll hold… for not more than ten minutes, max.'_

"We'll call you if we need help…" commented Shane, but Cam followed that bad news with even worse.

"_I won't be able to contact you while you're inside… you'll be on your own."_

"Then we'll just have to work fast! Come on, everyone!" The group lined up beside Shane and zipped into the portal, Sean especially worried about the time limit.

**Strange Dimension**

They tumbled through the air, falling until they landed in a strange, yet familiar place… a rock quarry. Shane griped quietly on how unoriginal it was, but they were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of the pig monster.

"Welcome to my sty, Rangers! I hope you like it- because you won't be leaving!" it crowed, then issued a challenge: "Come on, Rangers!"

The battle began. Sean extracted his twin ninja blades while the others pulled out their swords and went after the creature. At first, it seemed like a pretty even fight- he paired off with Dustin and tried to draw the monster's attention while Dustin hit it from the side, but the pig knocked Dustin's sword aside and slammed him to the ground with a shot before turning its full attention on Sean while the others were getting Dustin back to his feet.

Sean tried a couple quick combos, but he always ended up having to stop to block the monster's strong attack, but he recovered. It wasn't until he made a critical mistake that he understood what the heck the others had been trying to train him on. Feeling a little fatigued, he let one of his maneuvers extend a bit more than usual, to try and use the force behind the strike to save some energy for the next attack.

The pig monster saw right through it. It used its fists to knock the blades aside, the shift in weight causing Sean to lose balance, and then the pig plowed into him, catching him with several solid blows before knocking him to the ground near his friends. Even with their help, he was slow getting up.

"You look tired- take a break, Rangers!" The pig produced a sword, and hit the ground with it, sending a blade-shaped formation of rock speeding through them, causing more damage. Then it released a swarm of snout-shaped projectiles, and after they were done, Sean dropped to the ground, having taken so much damage he could barely get to one knee.

"Time to submit to the power of the pig!" the monster shouted, and Sean's mind reeled. They couldn't take much more- he was barely holding the morph himself, and aside from that, the others looked in bad shape as well.

"In your dreams!" came the retort from Shane, followed up by "The only thing more powerful than you is your smell!" by Tori and ending with "Yeah, haven't you heard of soap?" from Dustin.

"I wonder how many tenderloins we can get out of him after this is over…" Sean cracked, and watched as the pig summoned a strange flying object and sent it at them. Shane jumped aboard and started riding it like a skateboard, and rode it until it crashed into the pig. The Rangers brought out their weapons, and Sean sighed as the Wind Rangers formed the Storm Striker, leaving him out of it with his Twilight Laser. They fired at the pig, and it exploded after taking that much damage.

Once it was gone, the portal appeared again, drawing them up towards it, and they were sucked through, re-appearing on top of the Harbor Office Tower.

**Harbor Office Tower**

They landed on the top of the tower in good spirits.

"That roast is toast!" Dustin grinned, and Shane could help but laugh as he helped Sean to stand. But Tori had a more pressing question; "Where are Blake and Hunter?"

At that moment, a small explosion occurred, and suddenly a small discarded popcorn bucket exploded, releasing a popcorn-covered Blake and Hunter, both soaked with artificial flavoring. They then suddenly cowered as they were hit by a cascade of artificial flavoring from the air as the last of the popcorn flavoring hit them. Jokes were made about how much they smelled, and Sean managed to stand on his own feet after a few deep breaths.

But the calm didn't last. From behind them, the pig monster reappeared, and grew to an immense size, cackling about how he couldn't be destroyed in his own dimension. Sean was ready to pack it in and go back to Ops… when a new threat appeared.

"Hope you like your pig extra big!" laughed a voice, and the Rangers turned to find Kapri, Marah, and a large group of Kelzaks standing there, trying to look menacing. Hunter quickly formulated a plan.

"Shane, you, Dustin and Tori take your Zords and take down the monster. Blake, Sean and I can take down these guys."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Evil Alien Barbie and Skipper won't be THAT much of a fight…" Sean cracked, turning to face the two girls (who were just eyeing him dangerously) and the horde of Kelzaks. The Wind Ninjas split off, and Sean dropped his morph. Kapri gestured the Kelzaks forward, and the fight began. Several came at Sean right away, and he tried the same thing as before- quick simple moves that dropped each Kelzak for long enough for him to clear a space. While doing so, he slipped and fell on the rather large puddle of artificial flavoring that was quickly growing as Hunter and Blake dealt with their Kelzaks. Pulling himself to his feet and taking a deep breath, Sean grinned. After all, Sensei was constantly telling them to keep aware of their surroundings, and given that the flavoring was rather slippery… he motioned a few Kelzaks to come attack him, and after they hit the flavoring puddle, they all slipped and ended up covered in the stuff. Blake and Hunter quickly used the same method to deal with their Kelzaks, and there was soon a pile of greasy Kelzaks, along with an apprehensive-looking Kapri and Marah.

The three ninjas soon lined up in front of them, Hunter and Blake taking fighting stances, and Sean giving a smirk as he motioned for them to come try their luck.

"Oh, um… we have to go! We're late… for a barbecue!" Kapri quickly blurted out, before she and her sister vanished in a burst of white light. The three turned to each other and grinned, and Sean smiled… but quickly went down to one knee again. He managed to turn around and watch the Megazord destroy the pig monster once and for all.

**Ninja Ops**

After a few hours of napping, Sean got up, feeling somewhat better. He wandered out to the main room in Ops and found Cam typing away at his computer… but with no sign of the others, or even Sensei.

"If you're wondering where Dad is, he's out at the movies…" Cam said as he looked up and noticed Sean standing there. "Blake got two more passes to the film festival's encore today, and since Tori was busy mopping up after Blake and Hunter, Dad decided to go with Blake to get out. I don't know where the others are, but they dropped off that box for you. Looks like some sports gear…"

Sean padded over to the box and found a note resting on top of it. He opened it up and scanned it.

Sean:

Consider this a gift for sticking around. Your skills are getting there, so don't lose hope.

It had been signed by everyone- even Sensei had scribbled his name with a pen that must have been a few sizes too big for him. So he opened the box and found a collection of gear that almost matched his Ranger suit. There was skateboard equipment, and a wetsuit. Then he found two coupons from Storm Chargers, with Kelly's signature on them.

"'Good for one used surfboard… good for one used skateboard. Maybe these will give you some better memories to get you over the bad memories of the fire.'" Sean grinned and rolled his eyes. He carried the box back into his small room and set about going through the stuff.

**The Black Ship**

The pig monster had failed- but at least they had gotten SOME use out of it, Lothor thought. He had been quite tasty when the right amounts of heat and sauce had been applied to him, but now it occurred to him that he'd need a new plan to deal with the Rangers. Especially that new one- in the orange. Not only were his jokes terrible, the bright orange gave him a headache if he stared at the display for hours on end.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin- it wouldn't do to get sauce all over his throne- he looked at his generals. Choobo was off in a corner, laughing to himself- he really didn't understand why he kept him around. Zurgane was directing some Kelzaks in the disposal of the leftover bones from their meal, and Kapri was still chasing Marah around with a cold rib.

He sighed. Taking over the world- especially on a budget- wasn't easy. He had to put up with his nieces, the swirly portal in front of him, Choobo not using his brain-

He locked his eyes on the portal, and called out to the people he was sure were behind this.

"What have I told you two about taking in strays? We don't have room on board for every charity case in existence…" he growled, before a figure burst through the portal, with it slamming shut behind him.

"…your nieces had nothing to do with me. I'm only here to make you a trade- help defeating your team of Rangers in exchange for the services of one of your crew… when I need it."

Lothor almost laughed- until the stranger demonstrated his ability. He shrank down, moved around, and grew again, standing right behind him, seemingly able to melt into the darkness at will. A few unlucky Kelzaks thought him an intruder and tried to jump him, but the stranger drew a sword with an edge that shimmered like pure darkness, the black almost cutting the air. The edge dropped the Kelzaks to the ground, where they thrashed around for a minute before sinking into the shadows.

"…your servants leave a lot to be desired. But my offer still stands, with one condition…"

Lothor thought for a moment- this guy was good. Good enough to beat him in a fight, no way in anything. Good enough to deal with the Rangers…?

"It SOUNDS good, but what's the catch? Not reading between the lines is how I ended up having to bring those two along…" he muttered, looking in the general direction of Marah and Kapri. The stranger smiled- one of those quiet smiles that could always be counted on to have at least a little malice behind it.

"When you next battle the Rangers, I will enhance your warriors' weapons. Dark matter- the living embodiment of the shadows- it doesn't cause physical damage- but everyone reacts differently to it. I wish to see what it might do to the Rangers… but there is one I want as a trophy."

He walked over to a display screen that was showing all six Rangers, and in a flash he'd drawn his own blade and the 'tink' of the point tapping the display screen got the attention of all in the throne room.

A small crack had appeared right over the throat of the Orange Ranger.

"He is the last piece to my collection… the last one I need."

"Perfect! You can start tomorrow. Darkness knows you'll do a better job than the last few bunch of hacks we sent down there. I'm preparing a plan that should be able to catch the little do-gooders off-guard, and then you can go in and finish the job once their powers have been neutralized. I don't care what you do with the others- as long as they're out of my hair, you can have the little smart-aleck."

Lothor chuckled grimly, and then left the room, presumably to go work on his new plan. The new stranger simply smiled, then melted into the shadows to observe. Oh, yes, it was coming together. The stupid twit didn't even know what was going to hit him… but as long as the final piece- the Omega- was in his hands, then nobody would be able to stop him… not even the Sage of Time herself.

Author's Note: Whew, this one was a pain in the butt to get out. I'm not entirely happy with how it ended up- pretty much the whole episode was kind of dry in itself, and the whole plot of 'person makes two different commitments and decides to zip between both of them and not admit they screwed up' has been done to death.

Sean's mouth is going to get him in trouble one of these days- I haven't watched the episodes themselves in a long time, but I thought this one had Marah and Kapri going up against the Thunders after or while the Kelzaks attacked them. Remember that "evil alien Barbie and Skipper" comment? Oh, yeah, they'll remember that. Heaven help Sean if they can get him alone…

Anyways, read, review, comment, whatever. I want to get your opinions- who are the Celestials, where are we going, who are the eight Edges of Darkness (hint: they were mentioned back in the tarot reading with the Celestials and the timeline names…) - if you want to PM me a list of who you think they are and where you think we're going, it might be fun to see how right you are. But I won't spoil- hey, if you know where we're going, then how am I supposed to surprise you guys?

Anyways, later!

**Comet Warrior**


	4. A Samurai's Journey

**Power Rangers: First Omega By: Comet Warrior**

**Act One: Azure Cove**

**Chapter Four: A Samurai's Journey **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. I just own some of the original characters.**

**Somewhere in Blue Bay Harbor**

'It's been a while…' Sean sighed as he rolled down the street on a quality used board. Kelly had somehow found him a decent used board in her back room- one so new Sean could have sworn she'd just taken it outside and let it roll along the concrete for half a block or so just so it'd barely fit the term 'used'. But Sean didn't really worry about it- with the orange-motif skateboard and surfboard he'd picked up, he was feeling more like his old self day after day.

Swerving around some children coming down the walk, he bounced up and slid along a bike rack to get past a massive pothole. He landed squarely on the sidewalk and rolled away, a grin on his face. Sure, he hadn't told Shane just HOW good he was with a skateboard, and as far as a surfboard, Tori was wanting to see his skills when they all headed to the beach later that day-

'-after training…' Sean trailed off as he skidded to a stop and face-palmed. He'd blown off training. Sensei Dawn would have actually went out and found him, dragged him back, and chewed him out before pushing him into a training regimen tougher than the one he'd skipped. He'd learned real fast that if he wanted to have enough energy left to enjoy the day, he'd better not miss training. Leaping off his board, he scooped it up and headed out to Ninja Ops.

**Ninja Ops**

"Oh, man, I'm sorry, I should have been here on…" Sean let his sentence just end as he saw something he didn't believe- Cam, standing over a broken block of rock, with the other five Rangers just standing around, looking for a reason why.

"You guys just don't get it, do you?" Cam sighed. "Just because someone isn't a Ranger doesn't mean they're completely useless…" He tossed a chunk of the rock at Dustin to prove his point, and then announced he was going out for some air. Tori looked around with a nervous glance and followed him out.

"Do you think he's mad at us?" Dustin questioned, and Shane made a face.

"Dude, he's ALWAYS mad at us!" he groaned. Finally, having taken in the scene, Sean spoke up.

"Let me get this straight, then- Cam broke the block?" He gave the rock a kick to confirm it was real, and then turned to the other ninjas.

"Well… yeah," Dustin started, but Sean cut him off.

"So that's why you were asking if he'd faked it in some way, then?" A nod from Shane, and Sean sighed.

"So, to sum up everything, you pretty much told him his skills don't mean anything just because he doesn't have the snazzy suit and Zord. I would bet if any of us tried and broke that block, well, we wouldn't question it happening, because well, we're Rangers, and we'd expect that out of ourselves. But Cam does it and the first thing out of your mouths is 'Wait, where's the REAL block?' 'Oh, he cheated and used some kind of tech to blow the rock apart!' No wonder he just stormed out- I'd leave too if my friends thought that way…" Sean quietly trailed off again, realizing the gazes of everyone in the room, including Sensei, were trained upon him. The room was quiet, until a small voice coughed.

"Succinctly put, Sean. But I fear that there is more to this than mere words," Sensei began. It took a while, but he wove a story of his own, on how he'd promised Cam's mother- his wife- that he'd never let him become a ninja. After the story ended, Dustin spoke up about how unfair it was, and Sean couldn't keep quiet either.

"You know, he puts in as many reps as the rest of us, Sensei- I was looking for the bathroom last night, and I heard something- at first, I thought that it was Dustin watching cartoons, but it turned out to be Cam practicing. I have to say, I was impressed. He's faster than I am with hand-to-hand; he'd make an amazing Ranger if you have another morpher lying around."

Sensei nodded and looked at the library of scrolls. "…I appreciate your honesty, both of you. Perhaps I have been a little overprotective… please, leave me to think." Sean turned away as the others did, and went to his room to drop off his skateboard. He picked up a duffel bag containing his swim gear and set out to find Tori. He looked around, and realized she must still be out with Cam- and made a mental note to invite him to come along. 'Guy doesn't get out much… he could use some fresh air that doesn't smell of wood shavings and pet crunchies…' Sean thought, as he headed out the front door. Looking around, he spotted the two of them by a pond, and Tori waved him over.

"You should just talk to your dad… he's pretty reasonable." Tori finished as he approached, and Cam snorted back a laugh.

"Okay, but if he doesn't listen, I'm not cleaning his cage up for a month… you guys headed somewhere?" he said, noticing Sean's bag.

"Yeah, we were going to go surfing… you're welcome to tag along if you want to work out what you want to say to your dad…" Tori asked, and Cam waited for a bit and finally nodded.

"I guess I could use some fresh air and sun…" he said, tossing the rock he was holding into the pond behind him. After a few seconds, however, a large explosion blew a column of water into the sky, and a horde of things appeared upon the shoreline behind the three ninja. As the mist cleared, Sean could make out some familiar faces- a horde of Kelzaks, Kapri, Marah- and a new face, a monster that looked like a giant carrying a skyline on his head. The crack came to his lips immediately.

"Don't you two have a playset to go find or something?" he quirked a smile while dropping his bag, and stepping up to take a position beside his friends. Kapri fixed him with a dark look.

"Laugh it up. Pretty soon, you won't have any reason to laugh, so get it out of your system." Marah chimed in with "It's okay, we're here to destroy you, so you won't have to be sad any more!" Kapri rolled her eyes while Sean grinned again.

"Well, that's what happens when Skipper tries to be evil without Barbie's guidance…" he cracked, and the monster responded with a blast of energy that Tori and Cam dodged, but knocked Sean off his feet and onto his rear. He scrambled back to his feet and dusted his pants off, looking around for his friends. He spotted the others rushing to join them, and he stepped back to join them.

"Dude, I've heard of cities coming alive, but this is ridiculous!" Dustin said, and they quickly took up their morphers.

Afterwards, the fight began- Kapri and Marah hung back as the Kelzaks went after Cam, and the monster proceeded to absolutely pound on the Rangers. Sean hung back with his twin blades, and he rushed in, thinking he saw an opening, but the monster quickly turned around and caught Sean, using a few quick blows to drop him to the ground with ease. Sean rolled to his feet, but something caught his eye- Marah, waving her staff- and then a bright bolt of energy erupted from the end of it, and while they all got hit pretty badly, Sean got the worst of it, spinning around in the air before he landed on the ground, dazed and shaking his head. He stood, and as his eyes focused, the monster was standing before them, holding some kind of pot. As he opened it, Sean suddenly felt something tearing at him, pulling not at his body, but his spirit. He could see the orange energy as it streamed out of his body and into the monster's pot, his uniform's color graying out. He fell to his knees, most of his vitality gone, and as his uniform went completely gray, his morph collapsed around him and he was left on the beach, not in any shape to get up.

"Hmmm, what do you call a smart-aleck Ranger who finally let his mouth write a check his morpher can't cash?" Kapri asked, a smirk on her face as she looked down at him.

"Sean!" Marah chimed in with a giggle, before them and the monster teleported away, laughter on the girls' lips.

The Kelzaks surrounding Cam vanished as well, and he came running over. They all struggled to their feet, feeling exhausted and run over.

"Man, I feel like I just rode a forty-five minute moto on a tricycle…" Dustin whined as Sean struggled back to his feet, realizing that for once, Kapri had been right. The whole thing had been a trap- they got baited into morphing, once they were stunned, the monster had stolen their powers, and Marah and Kapri were up in space, most likely laughing their rears off on how they'd finally gotten him back for every single comment so far.

They struggled back to Ops, where Cam ran some scans and pronounced that their Ranger energy had been drained.

"If you go out to fight that thing again… you might not come back…" he finished solemnly, and Sean collapsed in a chair, exhausted.

"This is grave news…" Sensei started, but then the viewscreen lit up- the computer had found the monster, and they really didn't have a choice but to go after him. Cam adjusted their morphers to give a quick boost of power, and they were off again, trying to get the sphere with their powers back.

**Blue Bay Harbor**

**Warehouse District**

Shane ran up and used his ninja-streak run to snatch the sphere out of the monster's hands, and he carried it back to the rest of the Rangers. The fight started a bit later, and the monster launched its lasers, knocking them all out of the way, but he seemed to be concentrating on Shane, as he had the ball. Realizing he wasn't going to get the ball back by shooting, the monster vanished, and a black void covered everything. Sean looked around- he couldn't see anyone else- until Shane came into view, looking like he was wandering through a dream. Then Hunter and Blake stepped into the picture, and Sean watched with horror as Shane turned his sword on his friends, himself not realizing that he had just hit his friends. Then Tori and Dustin entered the fray, and attacked their friends, before they got knocked to the ground. Worried that they were hurt, Sean charged forward, and the five Rangers looked at him and pulled out their weapons.

"He's charging! Get him, guys!" Shane called as he charged past Sean, striking several times with his blade, before Blake and Hunter used their blasters to hit him several times. Dustin followed up with a few quick shots from the Lion Hammer, further knocking Sean around, and then Tori was last, using her Sonic Fin to bathe Sean in pounding sound waves, causing him to drop both his blades and collapse to the ground as the apparent illusion faded. Tori almost screamed in horror and was the first over to check on him- after she had confirmed he was still breathing, she tried to help him up.

"Sean, I'm sorry! You looked like that monster, Madtropolis- we thought he was charging us!" They both looked up as Shane slashed Dustin again, and he paused as Sean struggled back to his feet, leaning heavily on Tori and Blake, who came up to support him. Shane looked like he was waiting for something, and then turned and struck an approaching Madtropolis- it turned out to be the right one, as the black void fizzled out, returning them to the warehouse. They gathered around Shane, ready to get the heck out of there, but suddenly a deep feeling of exhaustion welled up, and they all but collapsed to the ground.

They tried to get up, but the enlarged visage of Madtropolis hung above them, and it bathed the area in energy bolts, causing yet more damage. Sean tried his best to hold on, but he lost his morph, lying on the ground breathing heavily.

The others quickly formed the Thunderstorm Cannon and launched a blast- thankfully, it hit the right target and managed to deal enough damage to drop Madtropolis, as he collapsed to the ground and exploded. Their relief was short-lived, however, as it suddenly returned, only much larger.

They tried to break the sphere open with Shane's sword, but nothing happened, and then the monster decided to swipe at them and fire its energy at them, causing them to dive aside. They had to call the Megazord, but this left them with three problems- 1) They hardly had the energy to last through a Megazord fight, 2) if the monster got the sphere back, they were pretty much out of it, and 3) Sean didn't have a Zord, but he was too hurt to get back to Ops on his own, so he could be a liability during the battle.

Thankfully, problem 2 solved itself, as Cam broke in over their communicators and announced that he'd been working on a new teleportation system. The decision was made to let him test it out on the sphere, and it was quickly zipped away. They didn't have a choice about 1 or 3, though, and had to bring Sean aboard the Megazord, letting him rest against the back wall behind them while they fought.

The fight didn't go as they wanted, however- the monster saw easily through their defenses, and before long had them all on the ropes, finally causing a fire that caused their Megazords to overheat and eject their occupants to protect them from the heat. All six of them landed on the ground, Sean landing heavily on his back with a grunt. He was going to feel today for… well, however long it would take the large version of Madtropolis to finish them off. He got to his feet with the others, and sighed. Illumina would kill him, he supposed- if whatever would be left of him would ever make it back-

At that moment, everything just stopped. Thought, time, even the descent of Madtropolis's massive hand.

**Ninja Ops**

The next thing they realized, they were back in Ninja Ops, all collapsing to the ground. Sensei was telling them to relax for the moment.

"I have engaged Cam's teleportation system to bring you back here… you are safe for now." Sean sighed at those words and pulled himself into a couch, relaxing his muscles and trying to recover some energy.

"Where is Cam, sensei?" Tori asked, and Sensei turned away.

"He has embarked on a journey that could very well determine the fate of the world as we know it," was Sensei's only answer.

After they got a bit more of their strength back, Sensei continued his story. "Cam has gone back in time to get help. But if he does not return in time, I fear there will be nothing to prevent Madtropolis from destroying our planet."

The others mouthed platitudes that Cam would get back safe, and part of Sean thought that maybe if Cam had been a little more social instead of sitting back at Ops all day, just maybe he might have had a chance at Tori before she had started spending all her time with Blake. He shook his head and took a deep breath- sure, maybe he wished he'd had a shot with Tori- but at least they were friends.

Suddenly, they all started looking a little ghost-like. Sensei sadly explained that time was resuming its true course, and they would be taken back to where they had been when it had stopped. They faded out from Ninja Ops and returned to the field.

It was as if the stop had never happened- there they were, back in the field, and Madtropolis's massive hand was swinging down at them…

…and then a strange sound could be heard. They looked up to see a strange green Zord streak across the heavens. As it got closer, they could see a small door on the side open up and a figure in green lean out. It held something to its face and began to speak.

"Hello, Power Rangers! Looks like you could use a little help!" With that, he disappeared inside the Zord, which began to pound Madtropolis with laser fire. The hits seemed to have an effect, as while the monster returned fire; the Zord zipped out of the way, avoiding every blast. Then it flew low to the ground and turned on its side, letting the rotor spin along the ground, causing a chasm to open underneath Madtropolis, which made him end up buried for a few seconds under a pile of earth and boulders.

He emerged somewhat worse for wear, and ended up facing a Megazord as the helicopter flipped around and changed into a human shape. It created a sphere and called forth the Bee Spinner, which it used to finally drop Madtropolis for good, as he fell down and exploded.

The Megazord landed and its pilot jumped out, landing before them. He looked different than the Ninja Rangers' uniforms, but at the same time, he looked kind of familiar…

"Dude, no one ever said anything about a green one… or, for that matter, an orange one…" Dustin mused. "Do you think he knows us?"

"Why wouldn't I know your name, Dustin?" the new Ranger said, and before they could utter another word, he powered down, revealing one Cameron Wantanabe as the newest Ranger. The others all just stood there in shock, happiness, and exhaustion as they finally realized what had happened: Cam had found a way around his father's prohibition on him becoming a Ranger- by following the path of the samurai.

"Look, no time to explain. Right now, we have to get everyone back to Ninja Ops!" Cam started pushing all of the rangers in the general direction of Ops, but Dustin and Sean put up a little resistance.

"Look, can't we wait for a taxi?" Dustin asked, and Sean leaned up against a tree, trying to catch his breath.

"You're the only one of us who hasn't been rode hard and put up wet. Can't we catch our breath?"

Unfortunately, someone else was about to have a say in the matter.

"RUN, FOOLS!" boomed a voice, and they looked up. Floating in the air, about twenty yards from them, was Lothor, in all his evilness.

"Uh, guys, I think he might have a point…" Sean said, his legs finding new life as energy blasts started landing around and among them. The group quickly made tracks for the stream running through the woods, where they got another unwelcome surprise.

"Oh, Rangers!" came a pair of sing-song voices, and Sean's mouth found new life.

"First crazy guy, now Barbie and Skipper? Who's next?" he cracked as he stumbled a bit, almost falling forward into the water before getting back to his feet and following the others down the stream. Various laser blasts followed them as they kept tripping and falling, finally ending up surrounded, with a laughing Lothor hovering in slowly.

"What's the matter, nephew? Don't like reunions?" he asked with a sneer, and Dustin looked between the two.

"You can't choose your family, Lothor… and I certainly didn't choose you!" Cam retorted, shaking his head.

"A pity… there's always a spot open in my evil organization for someone like you…" he finished before his eyes locked upon the second-newest ranger.

"A Twilight student, hm? I could have sworn the school had already been destroyed by the time I got to it… but then again, I destroyed so many ninja schools and captured so many students, they all begin to run together after a while…" Lothor stroked his beard while Kapri suddenly started talking.

"Uncle, he's the one! You know, the one who attacked us! When you capture him, can I have him? I have so much I want to _tell_ him…" she finished, eyeing Sean with what he could only describe as an odd look of anger, hatred, and mockery.

There wasn't any time for a retort, though, as the seven rangers suddenly poofed out of the area, teleporting back to Ninja Ops. They all collapsed upon the floor, not really feeling up to returning to their feet any time soon.

"Ugh… man, now I think I know what a spoon feels like going through one of those massive industrial dishwashers…" Sean groaned as he tried to extract himself from the pile of ninjas on the floor. The others had similar things to say, and Sensei, standing besides Cam's usual station, smiled softly.

"Your appreciation is noted," he said, and immediately they all started to apologize.

"You know, we could have taken him if we'd had our powers…" Shane trailed off, and they turned to look at the sphere sitting on the low table in the middle of Ops.

"Then perhaps it is time you got them back. The sphere holds the power of six Rangers. Only a greater power can open it." Sensei advised. They all looked at the sphere again, and Dustin finally spoke.

"How about seven Rangers?" They all gathered around the sphere, deciding they'd have nothing to lose by trying out Dustin's idea, and each held out a palm over the sphere. Concentrating the meager amount of power they had left on the lock, they pushed harder… and harder…

It finally couldn't take any more, and ruptured, pouring out the captured power back into the Rangers' bodies. Sean felt like he'd stuck his finger into a light socket, but as the air cleared, he felt re-energized and like he'd just slept the entire day. The others felt the same way, and they celebrated a little bit, and then they began questioning Cam.

"You know, I just fell out of the sky, you had to earn your powers the hard way…" Sean said, and Cam just gave a mysterious smile and walked towards the computer console.

"Dude, what about uncle Lothor?" Shane asked, as they all settled in around the computer.

"Yeah- some crazy family tree I have…" Cam sighed, until Sensei tapped the screen with a paw.

"Cam, Lothor is no relation of ours," he stated quietly. "Once a ninja is banished, they cease to exist. The one I knew as my brother is a mere memory."

Sean stood and stretched the kinks out of his muscles while the rest of the rangers kept talking about Cam's family tree. If he really WAS Lothor's nephew, that made him cousins to Barbie and Skipper- actually, Kapri and Marah, respectively. How one guy could be related to so many out-of-this-world occurrences, he didn't know. But he did know he was going to sleep like a rock- in fact, he could hear it calling- the soft pillow calling his name, the soft mattress ready to hold him for the next thirty-six hours…

The computer trilled an alert, and Sean bit his tongue to keep from saying something he shouldn't. Monsters were teleporting down from all over, and it was obvious they'd have to go out and fight them. Sensei ordered them to split up, and Sean ended up going after one on his own, but close to where Tori and Dustin were fighting theirs.

He didn't recognize the monster he was fighting, but he pushed the attack, ducking inside its guard and scoring several quick hits with his twin blades, before crossing them in a powerful strike that put it on the ground. He then pulled out the Twilight Laser and twisted the grip around, causing it to shift some parts around, turning it into a pretty fearsome-looking hand laser.

"Twilight Laser- Setting Sun Blast!" he called, and a large blast of laser energy struck the monster, causing it to collapse upon the ground and explode. In a show of snarkiness, he decided to put on a little show, and waved to the sky.

"Got any more?" he called, and when no answer came, he decided to head out and help some of the others.

Streaking through the streets, he came across a strange scene- a large bug-like creature standing over Cam, who was being held by a bunch of Kelzaks. About thirty yards off, a woman with the biggest hair he'd ever seen was giving what could only be described as a news report to a Kelzak with a video camera. He streaked in, and was through half the Kelzaks before the monster took its attention off Cam, who used the distraction to break free of the Kelzaks holding him and knock them away. The Stinger used the opportunity to shrink and fly away, and Cam took off with it, followed by the news girl and camera-mutant. Sean waited for a while, and then followed, streaking up to the news-girl and knocked her aside, and then knocked the Kelzak down.

"Ugh… Sean, that hurt!" The girl's outfit flickered, and Marah sat there in the street, pouting. The Kelzak picked up the camera, and Sean took a long moment in thought.

'I know, she may be evil, she may have tried to destroy you, and she might even hate your guts… but at the same time, she IS a girl. …so is Kapri, I guess. Besides, Sensei Dawn would have taken me out back with her cane for some practice with her swing if she knew how I'd treated them…' and against his better judgment, and hoping that nobody that knew who he was happened to be watching, he knelt down and offered his hand.

"Look, I apologize for knocking you aside. Um, both today and the other day… and… I guess… for the 'Skipper' comments. I guess that was taking it a little too far… "

Marah's face was surprised. She slowly reached out to him, and then gently took his hand, and he helped her back to her feet, handing her the microphone.

"Um… thank you… but you might want to apologize to Kapri, too, if she ever decides to come down again. I have to admit, though… I never expected you to apologize, but I thought you were going to attack me…"

Sean shrugged. "Nah. You didn't have a weapon… I could have just as easily went past you and after- oh, man, I have to go, they'll wonder where I am! Look, take care of yourself and tell your sister if she wants an apology, she's got to promise not to kill me on sight! Later!"

Sean ran off with a look back, waving, and Marah, not really knowing what to think and having her image of a combat-crazy Orange Ranger proven false, waved back with a small smile.

**Ninja Ops**

Sean was the last to arrive, but he stopped when he saw Cam. He looked like a big batch of mosquitoes had been at him, covered in red itchy bumps. He looked to be in a terrible mood, and the others were keeping their distance.

"I got a little too close to that overgrown sucker…" he muttered as Sean walked up. The others busily shifted to try and keep away, and as the computer beeped again, Sensei leapt on a few of the keys to call up the alert. A monster had grown to massive size, but the others were still attacking.

"Thunder Rangers, deal with the small ones. The others will go and battle the large one with the Zords. Sean, please stay here. I have some instructions for you."

The others took off, and Cam walked towards the bathroom, still jerking erratically. Sean watched him go, and turned to Sensei.

"Our computers have gotten a strange signal that almost matches the one your Power Disc gives off. I am sending you out to investigate it- it may be something worth our while. And some advice, Sean: Evil may not be blatant, but it will try to take advantage of you every time. But it was a very kind gesture, all the same."

With that, he hit a few keys, and Sean felt himself soaring through the air as the teleportation device was activated again.

**The Middle of Nowhere**

"Great. A pile of rocks, more rocks, and over there? Some little rocks! Just what does Sensei expect me to find out here?"

Sean kicked a rock out of his way, and kept searching. He held his right arm up to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and suddenly noticed the disc emitting a soft glow. He held it in front of him, and as he turned, the light faded, but then picked up again as he pointed it in a certain direction. He walked forward, following the disc's guidance, until he reached a small cliff overlooking a deep ravine. A bright light shone from the disc, and what could only be described as a tear in the very air itself opened. Unsure of what lay beyond, Sean stepped through, and found himself among an abandoned, blown-up castle. There were craters where lasers had hit, discarded weapons, and the evidence of a massive battle- mostly with Kelzaks- was apparent.

'Guess Lothor ended up hitting this place earlier in his career… no wonder there was no signal. The academy's… trashed?" This last part was when he heard a loud, rumbling noise. He sprinted over and found a steel door trying to open, but with a pile of rocks sitting on top of it, it couldn't open. He quickly pulled the rocks off and the door opened, leading down into a tunnel. Sean followed it for about five minutes before emerging in a large cave, and the lights suddenly turned on automatically, and he lost the ability to speak.

Sitting in the middle of the cavern was a Zord- a large, orange cat-type Zord. Its eyes lit up, and it growled a question at Sean, who held up his morpher, which suddenly flashed, and the cat Zord lowered its head, allowing Sean access to the cockpit. He opened the hatch and found a pile of things on the seat, and picked them up while the Zord powered up. He pulled out the first thing on the pile and found it was an envelope- with his name on it, no less. Tearing it open, the letter fell into his hand.

_Sean-_

_If you're reading this, then you know what happened here- what we expected would happen once Lothor started destroying ninja schools five years ago. Two other students were supposed to get their morphers at the same time, but they apparently didn't survive the attack… if you know of two who can use them for the good of the planet instead of looking to make a quick buck, let them in on a little secret. They're colored pink and violet, so choose carefully._

_This is the Cougarzord. It's been waiting for you, ever since you arrived. Use it well._

_Sensei Dawn_

Sean tapped a button while he was reading, and the main bay door opened, letting the Cougarzord suddenly spring to life, tearing along the mountain trails. They soon reached Blue Bay Harbor, and saw a nearly trashed Megazord with what could only be described as a giant insect monster flying around. Sean dropped the mementos from inside the Cougarzord on his lap, and then took control of it, guiding it quickly towards the monster. It leaped into the air and tackled the monster to the ground, before slashing it several times with sharp claws. The Stinger kicked him off and the Cougarzord landed on its feet, giving a metallic growl.

'_Sean, nice timing- and nice Zord, too! What is it, a cheetah? Will you name it-'_

"No, Dustin, I am NOT naming him Chester! Now let's hurry up and squash the bug, I have some stuff to show you guys- I found the old Starlight Academy!"

Cam swooped in his new Zord, and Tori's Dolphinzord detached to make room for him. He clicked into place and the newly dubbed Samurai Storm Megazord spun up its turbines, before unleashing one heck of a tornado blast that blew the Stinger to pieces, and then away.

**Ninja Ops**

"Hey, guys, I just finished linking the mainframe to my Samurai Saber! Now I should be able to continue my tactical duties even in the field… why are you all smiling like that? And why does Sean have all that stuff strewn over the table?" Cam questioned.

Sean was busy concentrating over the materials he'd found in the Cougarzord's cockpit- two morphers, one with a violet finish, the other with a bright pink- three new Power Discs, and a pile of papers- one set that proved to be the blueprints to the Cougarzord, and others that belonged to an owl-like Zord and a butterfly-like Zord.

"Well… if you're going to have the powers, you have to have the gear, right?" Shane said, slowly spinning around and handing Cam his new uniform. Cam caught it with a genuine smile, and while the others congratulated him, before they all gathered around the table.

"Hmmm… I could build these two in a week or two, but unless we have Rangers to pilot them, then I don't really see the reason why… but the plans to the Cougarzord I can use. I might be able to adapt your tech with this to be compatible with the rest of ours… it'd be really great to see if we can get you in on some bigger battles, now that you can actually participate in a Zord fight." Cam looked over at Sean and grinned. "Whoever built the Cougarzord is a genius. It's a really, really well-built masterpiece. But I can see what it holds inside- tell you what, we'll get something to eat and then- Sean? Sean?"

Cam looked around, and let a smile hit his face as the others looked over and started chuckling. Sean had finally succumbed to his exhausting day- folding his arms on the table and laying his head down, he was out like a light and snoring up a storm. A minute later, the teleport system was engaged to softly drop him on his bed.

He'd made some good progress today- he'd finally found his Zord, and if his dreams were any clue, he knew the two he'd like to ask to become Rangers… if they didn't throttle him first- or strangle him with a long, blonde wig.

Author's Note: As Peter Griffin would say, "Holy crap!" This one was a beast to get through- crunching down three episodes to get the material, than making it somewhat interesting… I hope you guys like it. Anyways, drop me a review- I like hearing from my fans, and I do read them all. You guys are the reason I write, after all, so keep them coming.

I'm off to sleep- if I was any more tired, I would have snuck some lolcat jokes in there during the Zord fight…

Comet Warrior


	5. Down and Dirty

**Power Rangers: First Omega By: Comet Warrior**

**Act One: Azure Cove**

**Chapter Five: Down and Dirty**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. I just own some of the original characters.**

**Blue Bay Harbor Motocross Track**

"Welcome to the Blue Bay Harbor Motocross Qualifier! This is one of the last qualifiers before Nationals, so we expect to see some great competition out there!"

Sean rubbed his ears as the loudspeaker beside him finally quieted. He wasn't accustomed to such things- sure, he'd heard loud noises before, but did it have to be the same information that anybody could pick up by reading one of the flyers that had been stuck up around town or the fact that the side of the snack shack had been completely covered with the same flyers?

"…remind me again WHY I decided to come out here?" he muttered to himself, as he waited back by the Storm Chargers van, sitting behind a small table covered with samples of sports drink. People coming by would just simply grab one or two bottles as they walked by, and even though he had been asked to tell people to come to Storm Chargers after the races to buy their own gear, he didn't get a chance to tell many people that.

'Face it. The only reason you are here is because Cam could claim to have duties at Ops to take care of, and Shane managed to disappear before she could ask. Therefore, it doesn't take a genius of any level to realize I didn't have the snowball's chance when Tori spotted me. She had to work the store, so I get 'volunteered' to run the table. At least Kelly offered some gear discounts to make up for my time, but Tori's going to owe me… '

Over the next few hours, he managed to get rid of most of the sports drink, and since the few races that people cared about were starting, Sean looked one way- and then the other- and quietly scooped the remaining dozen bottles of All-Pro sports drink into a cooler that Kelly had brought with them. He tossed it in the van, and then folded the table up and shoved that in too. The chair went on top, and he slammed the cargo door with a satisfying slam.

"…maybe now I'll find out why they like this so much. I can't ride my Tsunami Cycle worth anything yet… especially when you get THREE different lessons from THREE different people." He rolled his eyes and reached down to feel his elbow. The large bandage was still there, as was the rock he'd gouged it on back near Ops.

Sean covered the distance to the track pretty quickly, and found Kelly standing near one of the barriers at the side of the track. She smiled as he came up and stood by her.

"Sports drink all gone?" Sean nodded (a little guiltily, but he would be sure to use it to recover from the workouts he'd been involved in lately), and Kelly turned to the track.

"The Bradleys are both in this race- you know, Blake and Hunter? They've never really been together in an important race like this- did you realize I had to give them the key to the shop so they could go over their bikes with a fine-tooth comb last night? I don't think they got much sleep last night…"

The ramp went down, and the race was on. Sean picked out Hunter pretty quickly, but there were a lot of people wearing blue for their color, so he had a little trouble picking Blake out of the crowd. But when the pack thinned and stretched out, Blake made himself obvious, pulling away from the others in front of the pack. They raced quickly and very hard, neither brother willing to give an inch. But in a high turn, the last one before the finish, Blake cut Hunter off, and forced him up into the turn, causing him to lose lots of time and fall many places behind.

Blake came in first, while Hunter ended up in fourth. Sean cheered along with Kelly, and they both started making their way up to the pit area. As they approached, they could both see Hunter stomp away from his brother and angrily try to kick a chair into the next town. However, Sean mused, he'd need a few thousand more kicks to get it all the way there.

"Is everything all right here?" Kelly asked, and Blake just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, everything's fine," he muttered as he packed up his gear and headed for the van.

"Okay… now we can just pack up Dustin and we can go back to the store. So, how much sports drink did you put in the cooler?" Kelly eyed Sean with a mock scowl, and he grinned sheepishly.

"A dozen bottles. I was going to hit the beach after we got done here, and, well, seeing the stuff is a dollar a bottle in the stores…"

They walked while they talked, and found themselves near the motocross trick ramp. They walked up to the crowd to see who was performing, and both were shocked as a rider in some very familiar yellow gear sped towards the ramp and went off it, pulling some kind of trick as he flew through the air, and then hitting the other ramp with ease, but skidded during the transition back to the grass and laid the bike down.

Sean and Kelly both vaulted over the wall and ran to Dustin's side as he stood up. The crowd clapped, happy that Dustin wasn't hurt, before moving off to another event.

"Since when did you start doing freestyle demo?" Kelly asked Dustin; after they made sure he wasn't hurt.

"I guess I've been so busy racing that I've never really made it back out to the freestyle ramp."

Kelly scoffed at his words and shook her head.

"But you have a promising racing career! Why are you going to risk that?" Dustin thought for a second, and then perked up.

"Why can't I do both?" he asked, and Kelly scoffed.

"Dustin, you're a good rider, but you're not Travis Pastrana," she said, before walking back towards the van where Blake waited, having loaded his bike.

Sean helped Dustin wheel his bike back and then helped pack the canopy.

"Hunter found another ride back to town," Blake said as he climbed into the back seat after Sean.

Sean shook his head. If this was how family treated each other, he was actually kind of glad he was an only child.

**Blue Bay Harbor- The Beach**

Sean caught the wave and tried to ride it, managing to succeed for about forty seconds before falling off.

'It's a good thing the communicators are waterproof…' he thought before pulling his board back to him and heading back out. The others had said they might join him a bit later, but from the conversations he'd heard while picking up a cord for his surfboard- he didn't want to lose the orange and white-patterned board- he'd heard both Blake and Hunter pleading their cases and trying to convince the others that the other brother was the one at fault, and that they should all blame the other for making the other's life miserable.

'…which means I'm going to be here for a while…" Sean mused, catching another wave. He stayed there for another forty-five minutes, but nobody else showed up. Convinced that the day was a bust, he paddled into shore and detached his cord, sliding his board under his arm and packing up the rest of his beach gear.

Surfing really took it out of you, and the next thing he wanted, he decided, was something to eat. Yes, a cheeseburger, with some golden-cooked fries and a nice, cold root beer… yes, that would surely hit the spot…

It was at that exact second that his morpher beeped at him. Sean rolled his eyes- was Cam really expecting him to fight one of Lothor's goons on an empty stomach? He shook his head and used the towel to dry the morpher before he answered the call.

"_Sean, you've got to get over here. We've got a problem."_

"On my way," Sean answered Cam's call, and he looked around- the beach was empty as the ocean was calming down from evening tide, and he streaked back to Ops, hoping at least his bodysuit would dry on the way.

**Ninja Ops**

Sean walked in and pulled his bodysuit off, revealing his ninja outfit. His bodysuit appeared, draped over a couple of footstools in the back, and he walked over to where the others were.

"What's up?" he asked, and the others moved to make a little room. He glanced down at Cam's laptop screen and looked at a strange Zord that was standing in what looked to be a meadow near town. Listening to its pilot broadcast on an open frequency, however, made him realize where the Zord had come from.

'_Come on, Rangers… where are you hiding? Don' you want to come out and play, it's just little old me…"_

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear _Kapri_ was driving that train wreck…" Sean sighed as he looked at the others.

"Oh, it's her, all right. That's not the kind of voice one forgets…" Cam said as the others looked to Sensei.

"You are correct, my son. You must go and intercept her before she can do any damage." Sensei peered up at them, and Cam picked up his saber.

"I'll initiate the Zord sequence from here, and then join you." Cam called out. The Rangers started to leave, but Sensei stopped them.

"Before you go… Blake, Hunter, remember- whatever differences you have now, you MUST put them aside while performing your Ranger duties."

"I will if he does," Blake said, looking over at his brother. Hunter responded with "Don't worry about me, dude," and the rest of the team sighed quietly as the two thunders seemed to still be at odds.

They then morphed, and streaked out the door to meet their Zords. Sean jumped up and into the cockpit of the Cougarzord as it raced by, and settled into the seat as they raced off towards the battle.

'What is Kapri doing, anyways? I never thought she'd actually come down and try to fight us… I mean, she DOES tag along, but fight us? I never really thought she'd actually do that…' Sean thought as he guided the Zord up and over the ridge.

Sitting on the ridge, he waited until the others formed their Megazords before slowly prowling down the hillside towards Kapri's strange Zord.

**Meadow**

"_Well, there they are… all my least-favorite colors…"_ The broadcast crackled in, and Sean cracked a grin as he set his communicator to the same frequency.

"Oh, really? Well, color-blindness is something that you can live with- how would you explain that hair, otherwise?"

"_You really want to play, kitty-cat? Fine. Consider yourself taken for the rest of the battle."_ Sean winced- he didn't realize Kapri was running so intensely- it wasn't like her, he thought. Normally she'd spout off a taunt, but today, she was all business…

The Wind and Thunder Megazords moved in first, and Kapri showed them just how skilled she was, using her faster machine to slice each of them a few times, and then rolling out of the way when the Wind Megazord fired the Lion Laser, pelting the Thunder Megazord with laser blasts. Sean spotted an opening, and leaped at Kapri's Zord, managing to hit her twice with the claws before she managed to get clear. While the others regrouped, they stood across from each other, eyeing the other.

"_You know, I've been DREAMING of the day I'd finally meet you on an equal battlefield, Sean. I don't know what it is about you- your jokes, the stupid taunting, or that irritating grin on your face… but I'm going to put a stop to it, NOW. Maybe if you offered to give yourself up, I won't destroy the others…"_

Sean grit his teeth before answering.

"Oh, that's a really nice way to ask a guy on a date, you know- is that how they do it in outer space- you threaten to kill a guy's friends so he'll take you out?"

She rushed him in response, and the others hung back as they fought. Sean spent most of his time keeping the Cougarzord hopping, but he got a few good hits in, until Kapri unleashed a heart-laser attack that blasted him across towards the others. He struggled to get the Zord back up, and sighed in relief as its auto-repair function started on its most recent damage.

The Wind Megazord went into what they called "Lightning Mode"- it shrank some of its parts down to allow it to move faster, and it actually looked like it was going to finish Kapri. It set up for a final strike, but was suddenly interrupted by more laser bolts and attacks slamming into it. Sean tried to make a dash to help, but the Cougarzord was rocked with a stream of pink laser fire. He hauled the Cougarzord back to its feet and watched as two more Zords- one gray with blue and red accents, and one pink bug-motif appeared. Sean groaned as he watched them rally around Kapri, and heard Shane asked who was piloting them.

"_You didn't think I'd let Kapri have all the fun, do you?" _ Well, that put Marah in the pink one… but then a new voice came over the speaker, one that cut through Sean like a laser knife through an alien-

"_Hello, rangers. I don't desire to introduce myself, but I have only one request. If you wish Blue Bay Harbor to remain as it is, you will surrender your little orange friend to us. If you don't, well… I guess we'll just have to take him with us- over your shattered Zords and broken bodies…"_

The sound of the voice shook Sean to the core. He'd heard that voice before. He couldn't put his finger on it, but that voice just kept at him. Kapri took that minute to hit him again, knocking the Cougarzord away from the others. They all paused, however, as multiple sounds filled the area. Sean looked up with the Cougarzord as three Samurai Star Megazords suddenly dropped in from above.

"_Guys, they're drones- use them to combine with your Megazords- that should help even the odds!"_

They cheered as the two drone Samurai Stars merged with the Megazords- Tori and her Dolphinzord were set off to the side, but she decided to bide her time.

"_Sean, keep her busy! We'll finish these two and be over to help finish her!"_

"Okay, Shane, but make it quick- Barbie's not kidding around this time- I think she really does mean it this time…" Sean said before beginning another round against Kapri's Zord.

The fights went back and forth until the three Megazords managed to divide the stranger away from Marah, and managed to fire off their finishers at him, causing him to leap clear. They got their first look at him- blonde hair, cut in a military style, with a slim, muscular figure. He wore black, with a few different accents, and carried a bandoleer with seven knives stuck in it.

"_You would do well not to gawk at a servant of the True Darkness, rangers. Where I come from… hesitation is usually punished…"_

As the stranger's Zord exploded, it unleashed streams of electrical power that quaked through the Samurai Star, Thunder, and Wind Megazords, causing them to collapse as the electro-magnetic pulse crashed their systems.

"_Sean! Be careful, we can't move!" _Sean hissed something under his breath as he faced off against Kapri, with Marah circling around him.

"_I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised at this turn of events, Sean… you always said we needed something to play with… look, here's a big metal kitty that's just our size!" _

Something glanced off the Zord's back leg and he whirled the Cougarzord around to catch Marah, but it turned out she was just the distraction- Kapri moved in and used the Cougarzord's tail to swing it around and into a hillside. The fight went on for some time, the two of them picking apart the Cougarzord through its blind spots.

Finally, Sean could barely keep his Zord on its feet.

'You know, I bet life with Kapri wouldn't be THAT bad… sure, she might choose to just kill me quick, but if she's feeling merciful… huh?'

Shane was the one to see the stranger pull out a small metal controller and hit a few buttons on it before placing it back into his pocket and uttering some words in an alien language.

The effect was immediate- Kapri and Marah's Zords suddenly seized up and began to project flames from a hidden spout in each Zord. The fire spread along the ground, catching their Zords- and the Cougarzord- in the heat.

Sean's control panel was going crazy- the heat was aggravating some of the damage that the Cougarzord has taken, and suddenly he found himself launched out of the cockpit, and managed to get clear of the fire as the Cougarzord leapt away, rolling to a stop near a distant hill. His morph failed, and he hit the ground hard, wincing as he got to his feet.

Two sets of shoes hit the ground behind him, and he didn't bother turning.

"You know, you fight well. Maybe Uncle will let you have a replacement for that big kitty- of course, I'll have the override… and the self-destruct… but it won't be so bad… now, decision time… are we going to fight before we capture you, or will you come quietly?"

He turned. Kapri had a smirk on her face, as usual, while Marah waved at him and offered a quick smile.

_It won't be all bad… _she mouthed at him.

"…do you promise to leave the others alone?" Sean said after a long while of staring at the grass.

Kapri never answered- in the next instant, all three of them were falling through a portal that had spread under their feet, and which suddenly closed. From the other side, Sean watched as the blue sky and sunlight were suddenly cut off, and he realized, whatever was going to happen to him next, it was most likely in the hands of the two with him- and while one could almost be classified as neutral, the other hated him with a vengeance, and more than likely, he'd never be able to put up a fight in his current form.

Author's Note: Okay, it's been a few weeks, and I bet you thought I forgot about you guys. Wrong- school's just been knocking me for a loop with a long series of reports and presentations that I've had to do, and as always, schoolwork comes before writing for me. So, enjoy, and drop me a review- I really like hearing from you guys! As a matter of fact…

Go back to the first chapter and read the results of the tarot reading again. Each set corresponds to a Ranger, a city, and a villain. I'd like to hear where and who you think we're going to end up seeing fight with and against Sean- there are six cities to go, so you never know who's going to pop up… but I want to hear where YOU guys think we're going.


	6. Twilight in the Dark

**Power Rangers: First Omega By: Comet Warrior**

**Act One: Azure Cove**

**Chapter Six: Twilight in the Dark**

**(Disclaimer: I only own OCs. Everything else belongs to Saban or whoever owns the license.)**

Unknown Place, Unknown Time

Sean groaned as he sat up, lifting one hand to his forehead to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Looking around, he couldn't find anything familiar. The plants were strange, the water moved in strange eddies and waves, and the sheer lack of no source of intense light caused him to make one crack before getting serious.

"Toto, this sure ain't Blue Bay Harbor any more."

The sun, if you could call it that, looked like it had just risen- unlike the sun that he was used to, this one was close to half the size and gave off a dull light, providing enough illumination to highlight shape and size, but not clear enough to render much of any color visible. But reaching up with his other hand to dust leaves off his ninja uniform presented him with a new problem- a sharp pain, resounding from shoulder to elbow, stopped him from doing anything moderately strenuous with that arm.

He resorted to tapping his communicator, sending a call to each of his fellow Ranger and Ops in order. When Shane and Dustin didn't answer, he still had hope. When Hunter and Blake didn't pick up, he started to worry- and when Cam, Tori or Ops couldn't be raised, he dropped his arms to his sides and kicked some of the offending leaves away.

'Just where the heck am I, anyways?' he thought before a rustling in the bushes caused him to look.

What emerged from the bushes was something he thought he recognized, but didn't. They looked like Kelzaks- that much he knew, what with their facemasks and distinctive outfits, but the glowing slice upon the chest of each and strange character adorning their masks- in place of the ever-present red thing that seemed to be there naturally- Sean knew that something was very different with these Kelzaks, and when the actively tried to jump him, he understood. They made for him in a pack, surrounding him in a circle instead of rushing him methodically, like normal. They didn't use clumsy hand-to-hand attacks, they used clawed hands-

And as one struck him from behind, the wound burned with cold. He whirled around and struck out at the one who attacked him, but at the same time, more of them struck at his unprotected back, striking several more times before he was able to knock a few of them away, and leaving him kneeling on the ground, feeling like he was shivering and boiling at the same time. There wasn't a lot he could do against the onslaught and the only thing that he decided he could do… was to take as many of them with him as possible.

**Ninja Ops**

"…what do you mean, there's no trace of Sean? I mean, if Lothor had captured him, he'd do something to gloat about it- there'd be a monster down here tearing up the city."

Everyone at Ninja Ops was worried- there was none of the usual fun chatter, jokes, or even guinea pig cracks. Blake idly drew a pattern on the low table with his finger, unconsciously trying to keep busy. They'd had the guy in their sights- and for one, it had been his and Hunter's bickering which had prevented either of them from taking more direct action.

Shane couldn't stop pacing- if he blamed anyone, it was himself. After the strange Zord had fried three Megazords in one go after being destroyed, they could only watch and listen as the Cougarzord had been taken apart one shot at a time. He'd seen the strange guy utilize something, and that had been when the fire had happened, and then the three of them- Sean, Marah, and Kapri- had been sent down the portal and into wherever the rabbit hole lead.

Dustin couldn't even find the energy to be funny- everyone just kept on concentrating on working to find Sean, which meant that there wouldn't exactly be anyone to listen, much less laugh. He found himself drifting over towards Hunter, who had busied himself with working on a new Tsunami Cycle.

"Want help?" he asked the Thunder Ninja, who moved over and made room. Hunter was applying some paint to the fenders, and Dustin looked as he drew in a white rendition of the Starlight Academy's symbol on an orange background.

"When Sean rides this, he'll say he loves it…" Hunter murmured half to himself, and Dustin turned and busily started making sure the engine was seated and other things were connected. Hunter's method of dealing with it had been to drop himself into work finishing up Sean's Tsunami Cycle, and Dustin wasn't about to interrupt him.

Tori stood watching Cam as he scanned the area with every kind of wave known to man. Radio, sonar, every wavelength of radar known to the common populace- and some not known- there wasn't any sign of Sean or his morpher.

"You'll find him…" she said quietly, placing one hand on Cam's shoulder.

"I have to… Dad told me some stories of Sensei Dawn last night, and from what I can tell, I wouldn't want to be the one to tell her that we went ahead and lost the last Starlight on our watch… you know, like when we went through the…"

Cam paused as the idea suddenly hit him. It was like that portal the pig monster had dragged the Wind Rangers through- and in the end, he had concocted a plan for finding them that he hadn't had to use: instead of finding where one person that had been put through the portal was at, locate the portal's energy and try to figure where it lead- because once you found the other end of it, you'd find that person.

Changing some settings, he watched as the image became clearer- the lip of the darkness portal was still out there, but it had sunk below the surface of the planet- by about a hundred miles. There wasn't any way to get into it… and then suddenly something blinked.

"Got it!" he cried out, and the others came running. On the screen blinked a representation of a large, open, undetailed world, and in the middle, blinked a faint orange dot on it. As they watched, it started to move across the landscape, and Cam sat back, breathing a sigh of relief.

"He's still with us, so that's good… but the only problem is that we can't exactly teleport to him or even go after him… Sean's going to have to go after the exit by himself…"

The others returned to their chosen tasks, working a little harder, and a little happier. When she thought no one was looking, Tori bent down and gave Cam a quick hug.

"See?" she said with a smile before walking off to get some cleaning rags for Dustin and Hunter.

**Unknown Time, Unknown Place**

The creepy Kelzaks surrounded him, his uniform ripped and torn as he'd tried to dodge as many of their claw strikes as possible. He'd managed to knock a few of them away, but at the same time, they'd pursued him across the softly-lit landscape. Finally, they'd managed to do something he wasn't even sure a Kelzak could do- outsmart him. He was so focused on getting away from them; he'd never even thought they'd try to corral him in. But here he was- between a couple of proverbial rocks and a maybe not hard, but definitely painful place.

Pressing his scratched-up back against the rock made him wince, but Sean grit his teeth and held his hands out in front of him in a classic Starlight battle pose.

"You guys want to bring me down? Then come on, let's get it on! I'm going to make you earn this one!"

The first one lunged at him, and he kicked it away, knocking it into a few of the others. Three others came at him, and he raised his hands above his head and closed his eyes, waiting for it…

A blast of light knocking the three Kelzaks away from him wasn't what he'd been expecting, but quite obviously, it seemed to be better than what he HAD been thinking would happen.

"Get away! He's mine!" That voice, he realized, could be either savior… or she could want to finish the job herself.

'Or it just comes down to how irritated she still is at me…' Sean thought as he took advantage of the distraction to charge through the shadowy Kelzaks, shouldering them aside as he pushed through, and then he tripped and fell on the ground.

A small pair of hands helped him up and pulled him away. He looked to see who it was leading him along in the darkness and got a glimpse of a pair of goggles that looked like compound eyes. "I have him, hurry up!" came the cry and more light exploded behind them as the Kelzaks were scattered by some energy blasts.

"Didn't ever think they could be so persistent… uncle may have been wrong about their maximum potential, but at the same time…" The second voice came closer, and both of them slowed down until they were all together again. The light broke through whatever kind of cloud had been blocking it, and all three could finally see each other. Nobody said anything for a good long while.

Finally, after a long while, Marah broke the silence. "It's nice to see you… mostly in one piece, she said quietly. Sean nodded. They both looked like they'd been through the same thing- Marah had a long slash on her arm, but she'd torn off a piece of the now-ruined sleeve and bandaged it up.

"As long as we get him back to Uncle, I don't care what condition he's in. So let's hurry up and find a way out of this place- preferably before those Kelzaks come back." Kapri sounded quite harsher than she had after the Zord battle- but looking at her and seeing the claw strikes on her side and the scratch down her face made the retort on Sean's lips shrivel away instantly.

"…that's if either the other Rangers or your uncle know just where we are," he said quietly and then shook his head.

"Let's keep moving- I don't think we scared those… things off for good, and I'd wager they went to go get help so they can tear all of us into random bits. So, let's keep moving and we'll try to find a way out."

The three unlikely companions trekked out across the wilderness, pausing every so often to try to make a map. This was quickly tossed out when they realized they didn't have much luck in seeing more than twenty feet or so in the foliage.

"Hey, why don't you morph?" Marah suddenly chimed in, before wincing as Kapri elbowed her.

"I would if I could move my arm like that… but I think I hurt my arm when I came through the portal- landed on it and I can't get it above my head. Besides, if my gut is correct, that would be like a beacon for all those things, and, well… I'm not going to bring them down on all of us just so I can get out of here."

The look on the cousins' faces was priceless. Marah actually smiled and hefted her staff, while Kapri searched for something to say.

"…look, let's just look for a way out," she finally came up with.

The trek continued, until they found a small pond surrounded by sand. All three of them sat, tired, hungry, and mentally exhausted. Thankfully, the wood- if it WAS wood- lying around the small oasis still burned when Marah applied some power to it, and the heat and light it gave off was welcoming, even if it was a cold, blue flame.

"Okay… so we have some heat… and light… but what are we going to eat?" Kapri sat on the sand, and Sean thought for a second, and then stood. He pulled the ninja clothes swap with his good hand, and revealed his outfit that he'd worn to the motocross track- t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and (most importantly)- a duffle bag that he'd taken around. He dropped it on the ground and pulled the switch again, returning to his ninja uniform, which still showed some signs of damage. Unzipping the bag, he started pulling things out of it.

"…this is all I have. You're welcome to it, but there's not much there." He set out a few bottles of sports drink, some nutrition bars, a few bags of granola, and finally something that looked like a large, gray square that the vendor had said was edible. Sean pulled out one last bottle of the sports drink and motioned for the two girls to go and help themselves- and shook his head at the gusto that they went after the food. Both girls wolfed down a bar each and half a sports drink before looking back at him.

"…don't EVER tell anyone I told you this, or I'll hunt you down and force-feed you your own morpher… but thank you." Sean again shook his head.

"Nah, you don't have to thank me. Just basic instruction on traveling with people from the academy. 'Only eat and drink what you need to make the feelings go away. The more your companions have, the more able eyes, ears, and bodies you'll have to use in case trouble shows up.' Basic Starlight instruction."

Sean took another drink of his All-Pro and sat back, looking into the flames. He heard the girls finishing their second nutrition bars and felt something hit him in the chest- looking down, it was another bar.

"Eat. I'm not dragging you across this place back to Uncle's ship- you're walking." He unwrapped it and took a bite- it wasn't so bad, he thought, as he chewed. He'd accidentally chewed cardboard on a dare when he was younger, and this tasted better. He quirked a smile as he swallowed.

"Why, Kapri, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually WORRIED about me."

Another bar came flying through the air and hit him in the nose.

"I'm NOT, idiot. As long as you're good enough to get us out of this place and to uncle's ship… oh, whatever- just as long as you help us get out of this place, we'll be fine."

"Yeah… besides, we need to get back to Uncle and tell him we found all the Kelzaks that have been going missing…" Marah said quietly. "He was going on and on about how we seem to be losing whole squads of them. Ever since that guy showed up, things have been getting stranger and stranger… I don't like it. No offense, but… I liked it back when it was just us, Uncle, Zurgane, and Choobo against the Rangers. He scares me."

"You mean the guy who was driving the third Zord?" Sean asked, and to his surprise, both girls nodded.

"He's… creepy. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear he's stalking you. He doesn't want power, or any kind of recognition when Uncle takes over the world- as long as he gets custody of you, he's perfectly fine with fading into the darkness. He's been spending a lot of time with Zurgane, lately- apparently they get along great together, and there's talk of Zurgane going with him when he returns home." Kapri stared into the fire, and then suddenly flopped back onto the sand.

"I'm exhausted… I want to sleep for a week." Sean took up his duffle bag and pulled out some fresh towels he'd never had a chance to use and tossed them to Marah before throwing the bag over to Kapri.

"Use it as a pillow… there's just some old clothes in it, and don't worry, they're washed. I'll be fine."

Another funny look. Then a slight smile.

"Why, Sean, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were WORRIED about me." Kapri actually giggled quietly as she laid her head down. Sean shook his head.

"Well… what do you say? Truce until we get out of here?"

"…only if it ends the second we're back in a world we recognize." Kapri pulled the bag up under her head and turned over, falling asleep within a few minutes.

For a long while, Sean sat watching the fire. The blue flames reminded him of Tori's Ranger uniform, and he couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the other world…

**Blue Bay Harbor**

It had seemed so easy- Cam had started modifying one of the satellites to broadcast a wave to pull the portal back to the surface, and of course it was an instant cue for one –or in this case, two- of Lothor's monsters to attack. The Rangers rushed to the city, and found themselves facing a pair of aliens that looked like a pair of bugs that had gone through some serious mutations- or a session with a comic artist.

"Nice to meet you, Rangers… have you zzzzzzeeeen your little friend in the orange? My bozzzzzz izz looking for him… running off with both hiz niecezzz…" The big red bug buzzed and flitted around as its bluish companion relaxed and stood there, calmly taking in the situation.

"Sister… calm yourself. Master Lothor has given us this chance to prove that we're better than those two infernal addlebrains… I suggest we not take the chance lightly."

"Oh, you have THAT right! The last monster who took us lightly- well, he's not around to tell you what happened!" Shane charged in, and the rest of the Rangers (sans Cam) followed him in.

The battle was intense- just when it looked like they finally had one of them on the ropes, the other bug would cut in and attack their undefended sides- and finally, with a combined attack, all the rangers were left sprawling in the dirt.

"Zzzzee? You cannot defeat uzzz… when we find your little friend… he will understand why we are zo much ztronger than the couzinzzzz…" With that, both of them teleported back out, and the Rangers got back to their feet.

"…they almost make me miss Kapri and Marah." Dustin said as he brushed off the front of his uniform and started streaking back to Ninja Ops.

"Cam… how is it going?" Tori sent out a call.

"_It's getting better… I think I have the wavelength I need to pull the portal up to the surface again… but I think I'm only going to get one shot at this to get the three of them out of there."_

"Wait- you can't seriously mean-"

"_I have a feeling that it wasn't Lothor's idea to send his nieces through that portal… and there's two other energy signatures by Sean, so I think it's all three or none at all."_

"Fine… how much longer before you think you can try it?"

"_About another half hour… head on over to the meadow with the others. I think that's where the entrance will appear."_

Tori cut the connection and started streaking over towards the meadow, following the others.

**Unknown**

Sean had gotten up before the two girls. He'd added a bit more wood to the fire, and then sat and stretched as he waited for the others to wake. He found himself looking at them- and he couldn't really place how they were in battle to their current state.

Marah had a certain girlish cuteness to her, he admitted- she was bubbly, cheerful, and happy- even when she was trying to destroy them. She'd actually accepted the idea of a truce without question, and her insistence had won over her cousin.

Kapri, on the other hand, he'd had to slowly win over to the fact that maybe they didn't HAVE to be at each other's throats each time they saw each other. That… and, well… it wasn't much like he could ask her out in the middle of a battle, but… if she ever suddenly wanted to...

The fire popped loudly, and before he could finish his thought, the girls started coming round. Both rose slowly and brushed the sand off their clothes. The fire had done its job, Sean noted- there were Kelzak prints up to about fifty feet of them, but they had been correct in that they wouldn't come close to any major source of light. Whether they just didn't like light, or they were scared of fire- he didn't care.

"...well, we should get going. We don't know how long we ha-" Sean was interrupted as something strange started to happen. It felt like the entire place was _rising_, but nothing else looked the same. Then he looked up. The sky was trembling… and getting brighter- until suddenly it split open and bright light shone down. The land continued to rise, until they were about twenty feet below the supposed lip of the pit. All three shaded their eyes and looked up to see a blue sky and white, puffy clouds.

For Sean, the decision was instantaneous. He grabbed hold of the cousins' arms and then tensed his legs, gritting his teeth and ignoring the aching pain in his arm. He leaped into the air and activated his ninja streak, bouncing off a couple of trees somewhat awkwardly as he tried to gain more altitude… and then a laser blast hit behind him, and he could see two streams of energy hit the ground behind him, the combined effects of the twin streams of power pushing them up and out of the pit and dropping them upon some soft grass of the meadow, not far from where they had previously fought.

"…I could almost eat the grass; it's so nice to be out of that place." Sean turned his head and watched as the darkness pit started to slowly disappear, until there was nothing to show that a pit to an alternate land lay below it.

He looked over at Kapri and Marah, only to find them both gone. They must have teleported out, he realized, and after a closer look, he saw a small piece of paper that had been folded up and left there, with his name on it. He crawled over to it and picked it up, recognizing the ink of a pen he'd left in his duffel bag, along with a notebook. Unfolding it, he started to read.

_Heading back to see Uncle. Whatever happened in that pit never happened as far as anyone else knows. You aren't so bad for a Ranger. Too bad we're enemies._

He stuffed the note into his pocket mere seconds before he was suddenly engulfed in a tornado of color, surrounded by people he had been assuming he'd never see again.

"Don't EVER do that to us again!" came a happy, yet teary voice, and Sean found himself being pulled up and into a hug by the Water Ninja.

"Tori- Tori- easy, you're going to crush me!" he gasped and quickly trying to wipe a few tears away, Tori stepped away.

"Dude, that must have been one heck of a trip down the rabbit hole… were you nice to the Queen?" Sean shook his head- even at a happy time, Dustin had his head up in the clouds.

"We were thinking you were going to ditch us to go look for your friends or something… but I guess since you're back, Hunter and I will just have to show you the ropes on a Tsunami Cycle, finally- the paint's drying, so as soon as you're back on your feet, well, sky's the limit." Blake came around and hit Sean on the shoulder, and both brothers gave him a grin.

"The Cougarzord is fixed up and back in its place, and we even came out a bit ahead- we managed to 'acquire' the two Zords Kapri and Marah were driving… that actually gives me enough raw materials to start on those two sets of plans whenever we want." Cam gave him a grin, and Tori butted in.

"Cam was amazing. He figured out how to find where the portal sent you, and- hey, where are Kapri and Marah, anyways?"

Sean shook his head. "They must have gone home. I have a feeling after the pit, their spaceship is a welcome place to lay one's head. Speaking of the laying of heads, I feel like eating a bag full of hamburgers and collapsing for a few days. So let's get home, and you can show me what I've missed."

They assisted Sean back to Ninja Ops. As they were preparing to streak home, Sean moved a hand to his pocket and fingered the note inside.

The dream he'd had- about the Starlight Academy, before the fall- he'd had a sneaking suspicion he'd seen them somewhere before, and he felt like something was coming to a head.

Author's Note: Let me guess, you thought that I'd forgotten all about you guys, huh? Nope- class work was a real pain in the butt, but now that I'm completely caught up, I'm back with this. It's original work, but hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as the other chapters.

Read and review, guys.

-Comet Warrior


	7. All About Beevil

**Power Rangers: First Omega By: Comet Warrior**

**Act One: Azure Cove**

**Chapter Seven: All About Beevil**

**(Disclaimer: I only own OCs. Everything else belongs to Saban or whoever owns the license.)**

**Blue Bay Harbor – Motocross Track**

It had been a few days since he'd been pulled from the pit, and for once, Lothor had been quiet. There hadn't been an attack on the city or anything, and for Sean, that felt like a reason to celebrate. However, since Sensei had extra training slated for Tori, Shane, and Cam… Sean found himself hanging out at the moto track with Dustin and the Bradley brothers. It wasn't a complete loss- at least they'd been able to go ahead and give him some rudimentary instruction on a slower motocross bike to supplement his Tsunami Cycle training. He felt like he was getting the hang of it- even if the bike was so underpowered Dustin's 125 could run circles around him.

He rolled up to the van and Blake waved at him. Sean killed the engine and stepped off the bike, pulling his helmet off and setting it on the handlebars.

"Looking good out there- at least you're past the whole 'let's skid along the ground and ruin a perfectly good paint job' phase." Hunter looked over his shoulder and around at the small group of people out at the track.

"Sean, you seen Dustin? I haven't seen him since we came off the track…" Hunter looked concerned as Sean shook his head.

"Wait- there he is… but where's his bike?" Blake asked.

"Hey, guys! I found someone who really knows how to tune my bike- said he'd give me some new parts if I told everyone where they could get the same setup, so I let him take my bike so he could work on it." Sean shook his head at the ever-cheerful Dustin.

"I really, REALLY hope you know what you're doing, Dustin. People lose bikes like that." Hunter shook his head, but Dustin kept insisting that his bike was going to be fine.

"I'm going to drop my gear off at the store and then I'll go get my bike." Dustin was having one of his moments, Sean supposed- the one where he wouldn't let anyone else get him down. He just hoped it wasn't going to backfire royally on him.

**Storm Chargers**

An hour later, Dustin's mood had turned upside down. He'd went to the location on the business card- and found himself staring at a vacant construction lot. He'd just handed his bike to someone claiming to have his own shop and- what's worse- helped him load it into the truck himself and watched him roll on down the road.

"Dustin, when are you going to learn that not everyone is worthy of your trust?" Tori chided, while Shane shook his head.

"Maybe someone at the track has heard of him… I'm going to go ask them." Dustin settled, and Sean stood up off the stool he'd been sitting on.

"I'll go with you. We can cover more ground if we split up." Dustin nodded, and both of them headed out for the motocross track.

**Blue Bay Harbor – Motocross Track**

They'd taken an hour asking everyone they could find- riders, mechanics, fans, officials, track staff- but nobody had ever heard of the guy that Dustin had given his bike to.

Sean really felt for Dustin- he'd really trusted this guy, and it had come back to bite him pretty severely.

A pair of riders broke off from the pack going around the track, and rolled over to them. Hunter and Blake pulled off their helmets and asked if they'd had any luck.

"No… my bike's got to be in another state by now…" Dustin muttered, somewhat depressed. Sean put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Hey- we'll find it. If anything, we'll talk to Cam about using some time on the mainframe to try and find this guy."

A pair of communicators beeped, and Hunter raised his. "What's up, Cam?"

"_I'm getting a strange signal over by the power plant…" _he started, but Hunter cut him off.

"Blake and I will check it out," he said, and put his communicator down.

"You two keep asking around here, maybe someone saw the guy you're looking for. We'll give you a call if it turns ugly." Blake put his helmet back on and followed his brother as he sped away.

It took them a while, but they still hadn't found anything. Suddenly, seeing Dustin look down the track, Sean followed his line of eyesight to see two girls- a blonde and a brunette- walking up the track towards them. They were so deep in thought, that they didn't seem to see or even hear the pack of riders rounding the curve and coming up towards them.

"HEY, LOOK OUT!" Dustin yelled, and both he and Sean ran and tackled one of the girls (Dustin took care of the brunette, while Sean got the blonde) out of the way just as the riders blew past. They rolled a little bit, and then scrambled to their feet and helped the girls up.

"You two almost got smeared all over the track…" Dustin started, and the brunette brushed herself off before looking at them. The blonde did likewise, and both did a double-take.

"Guess I didn't pay attention to where I was going…" the brunette said, and Sean's ears locked on that voice. 'Nah… it couldn't be…'

"You're…" she continued, and Dustin finished her sentence. "Dustin. That's Sean. You know, you two remind me of some people I know…"

"Yeah… we get that a lot… you see two airheads, you've seen them all…" the blonde finished.

"Hey, I know how you feel... people call me a space case, but as long as you're a good person inside, that's all that counts…" Dustin said, and the two girls collapsed to their knees and started to cry.

"We're not good people… heck, we're not even good BAD people…" the brunette started, and both Dustin and Sean knelt by them.

"Um, you kind of lost me there… Dustin started, and the blonde shook her head.

"Don't you even recognize us?" she started, and both stood.

"Maybe this will jog your memory…" the brunette started, and both girls snapped their fingers and suddenly changed in a flash of light, revealing their true natures- the blonde's hair went pink, and the brunette's head was suddenly topped with a compound-eye headdress. Kapri and Marah.

Sean and Dustin scrambled back, and fell into a fighting form. "You're those evil chicks that keep trying to vaporize us!" Sean brought his hand around and tapped Dustin on the back of the head.

"Dude. Learn some names, maybe people won't think of you as such a space case anymore?" he muttered, but then something unexpected happened- the girls snapped their fingers again and went back to their normal-girl disguises.

"Relax, you're safe. They kicked us out because we're not evil enough…" Marah started, before falling to her knees and starting to cry again.

"'Not evil enough?' Man, no wonder Lothor's having a tough time taking over the universe… guy doesn't know talent when it sits in front of him…" Sean muttered under his breath, and Kapri snorted.

"They replaced us with the Antennai twins, Beevil and Weevil… they're a lot more evil than us… Uncle was so impressed with them; he kicked us out of the ship and told us to go away, forever…" Sean walked over, lowering his guard.

"Two of them, one red, one blue, both look like something from a beekeeper's worst nightmare?" he asked quietly, and Kapri nodded quietly.

"Yeah… apparently Lothor sent them down while we were in the pit… they gave the others a good run for their money…" he finished, and Dustin suddenly perked up.

"You know… have you two ever thought about turning good?" he said, and Marah's face screwed up.

"You mean… forever? Yuck…" she started, but Dustin kept pushing. "How do you know something is going to be bad until you try it? Besides, wouldn't it be a great way to get back at those bugs and Lothor?"

"Hey… you have a point there…" Marah quietly said, before her face lit up. "But if we want to make them REALLY mad, we'll have to do something so good, so disgustingly nice and heroic…"

Kapri finished the thought for her.

"We want to become Power Rangers!"

The girls' eyes sparkled as they imagined it, and started going on about how they wanted to fight their uncle, while Dustin and Sean looked at each other.

"Well…" Dustin started, but suddenly their communicators beeped. Blake and Hunter's little scouting mission had turned ugly, apparently, and they needed help.

"Um, we have to go… I think your friends are tearing up the city…" Dustin started, and the girls nodded.

"Meet us at Blue Bay Point, tomorrow? We'll do some research, maybe we'll be able to find a way to beat Beevil and Weevil!" Marah said, and Dustin and Sean nodded. The decision made, the two guys ran off towards where the battle was at.

As they watched them go, Kapri allowed herself a smile.

"I have to admit… it isn't so bad on this side of the fence."

**Power Plant**

As they got close, they stopped to morph, and Sean rushed ahead of Dustin. He saw the two bug monsters, and saw the red one's staff get shot out of her hands, so he pulled his twin swords and rushed at the blue one, flashing past her multiple times and trying to knock the weapon from her hands as well. The blue one let out a yell of surprise, and her weapon went flying away as well. Sean skidded to a stop in front of the Bradleys, and pointed one blade at each of the monsters.

"Who wants to try their luck first?" he taunted, looking at each one of them in turn. Apparently neither of them did, so both hissed in a buzzing language, and then vaulted into the sky, flying up and away.

'Hey… they were… telling the truth…' Sean thought, before touching his communicator and opening a private channel to Dustin.

"Dude, they were-" he started.

"I know! They didn't lie to us- I guess they must really be serious about defecting…" Dustin finished, and Sean could hear the happiness in his voice.

On the way home, neither could wait for the next day.

**Ninja Ops – about 2 a.m.**

Sean sat up in bed, sweating. He'd had the dream again- normally, it was vague, misty, like something was missing from it… but tonight… pieces had been filled in.

It had been about the Starlight Academy, about three weeks before it had been attacked. It was a quiet classroom- just him, Sensei Dawn, and the other two that she had put on a specialized training program practically marking them as Rangers.

Normally, he couldn't see the other two, but tonight, something had slid into place- it was him and a pair of girls, one that had excelled at a staff, the other with a spear. They'd faced off on multiple occasions, but nobody else could really come close to their skills at the academy.

The Sensei had been talking, but Sean's mind kept wandering. He saw flashes of uniforms- one with pink lining, the other with dark violet. At that point, he lost the dream and woke up. He shook his head. Something was going on with his head, and he didn't understand. He wanted to ask Illumina, but, unfortunately, that was one of the things she HADN'T decided to tell him how to do.

Rolling over, he decided to go back to sleep, and worry about it in the morning.

**The Next Day – Blue Bay Point**

Dustin and Sean padded up the trail, looking around. Sean had a pack stuffed full of things- they'd packed some food and some other things for Kapri and Marah, to try and cheer them up, and were busy looking for them.

Dustin kept whispering to try and find the girls- if they attracted too much attention…

A rustling in some bushes caught their attention, and they looked over to see a brunette and blonde emerging from the bushes.

"You guys came!" Marah cried, rushing forward. Kapri walked out of the bushes as well, and she shook her head.

"We met the bug girls… they really ARE seriously bad…" Dustin started, and Marah nodded.

"Yeah… " Dustin started, and then he looked off into the distance. Marah started to say something, and then she suddenly couldn't talk.

"…that's why you need us." Kapri finished, looking at Sean.

It took a while, and Dustin and Sean looked at each other for a while… and both nodded.

"Tell us what you need us to do," Dustin began, and Kapri pulled a pair of strange objects with dials on them.

"These can neutralize Beevil and Weevil's energy… but they have to be charged with an energy source at least equal to their own powers. Just do that and we'll take care of the rest."

Dustin and Sean each took one, and while Dustin put his in his pocket, Sean looked at his.

"You know where we're going to have to charge these, right? And who we might have to let in on the secret?" Sean started, and Dustin nodded.

**Ninja Ops – That Night**

It had been simple- fake exhaustion, and go to bed early. Setting the alarm for two in the morning had been easy… but creeping past Cam's bedroom and Sensei's habitat without waking them had been the hard part. But they had done it- and as Dustin was firing up the mainframe, Sean looked around nervously. If they got caught, they'd have to spill. Cam was going to chew them out anyways over using the mainframe without permission, and the others would think of them as fools for believing what might be an obvious plot of Lothor's to get bombs inside Ninja Ops. But for some reason, Sean didn't mind. He'd seen the look Dustin had been giving Marah after their little day at the Point, and he shook his head.

'It's the right thing to do… they really do want to go straight,' he thought as Dustin hit a few buttons on the keyboard and a small panel lowered on the console, revealing a recharge station. Dustin reached up, ready to put his device on-

"…care to explain what you two are doing?" came a tired voice, and Sean and Dustin both jumped. The whirled around to find Cam standing there, an empty computer tower in his hands.

Later that morning, the others assembled at Ops to hear them out.

"I'm telling you- they want to change! Kapri and Marah are really good people!" Dustin started, and Blake scoffed.

"Dude- did you miss the whole Choobo thing? He lied to us then…" Tori went ahead and spoke up.

"How do we know it's not a bomb- or a tracking device?"

"Lothor's goons can't be trusted…" Hunter said, and Sean whirled to face him, poking him in the chest with a finger.

"Hey- Kapri and Marah are NOT goons, Hunter! They're just a little… misguided… but something just tells me we can trust them…" Sean trailed off, and Shane gave a grin.

"You two are so into them…"

Both Dustin and Sean blushed quickly, and Dustin started to go on about how yeah, Marah was cute and everything… but Sean stared off into space.

An alarm went off on the computer, and they looked up to see that Beevil and Weevil were back, and attacking the city.

"We shall see what their true intentions turn out to be…" Sensei concluded, and Blake picked up the devices and passed one each to Dustin and Sean.

"We have to go. If you want to still live your little dreams, go ahead and charge these up- but you might not like reality when they're done with us."

The other five Rangers ran out of Ops, and Dustin and Sean looked at each other, until Sensei butted in.

"…are you aware of the risk you both are taking?" he asked, and both nodded.

"Sensei, you've taught us that a ninja's most valuable weapon is their instinct- and mine says that even though she comes from the Black Ship… I still think they both have good in them."

"Sensei… something in my gut tells me to trust them. I don't know the future- no one can- but I think they're almost at a personal crossroads- you know, the one where you have to decide what you want for yourself? You weren't in that hole with both of them- I have a feeling that they know life on the Black Ship is only going to end badly for them."

"…then let us hope that you are right." Sensei finished, and Dustin and Sean placed the strange devices on the charging pad, watching as both were filled with energy.

On the screen, suddenly, a large explosion cleared the area of Kelzaks, and Beevil and Weevil were looking at two figures emerging from the smoke. Kapri and Marah, still in regular clothes, walked forward.

"…Weevil, it ends. You're not going to hurt anyone, ever again…" Kapri started, while Marah stood firm. The battle began, but the girls demonstrated clear understanding of fighting, using their skills to keep the monsters at bay. But when they monsters pulled out their energy weapons, it went from a fight into a rout. They knocked around Marah and Kapri, eventually knocking them down, almost unconscious.

Dustin yelled for Marah, and finally, the console beeped that the devices were full.

They each grabbed one, and headed out for the battle.

**Parking Lot**

The girls had gotten to their feet by the time they had got there, and Beevil and Weevil had started to approach them for the final strike.

"Hey! Catch!" Dustin yelled, and both he and Sean let loose a throw, hurling the two devices to the girls. Kapri and Marah each caught one, and quickly turning, they fired a blast of energy that knocked away the monsters and sent them flopping to the ground. Bending over, they attached the devices to the monsters' heads, and stood up, looking over at the Rangers.

"…it worked! I don't know how, but it worked!" Dustin said… until both girls suddenly snapped their fingers and returned to their normal outfits.

"…that's because Uncle wants us to destroy you ourselves… to get back into his good graces…" Kapri said, slowly.

An energy burst from behind the girls suddenly flashed forward, slamming into the Rangers and knocking them off their feet.

"I have to admit, they plan worked perfectly… I almost thought you lost, but when we destroy the Rangers and take our prize back to the ship, he will surely give you your posts back…" Weevil crowed, before stepping forward, Beevil behind her as they stepped forward to finish the job.

On the ground, half-dazed, realizing this was his last chance; Sean got to his feet and stared at Kapri, eyes meeting eyes.

"…this is how it ends, then? I guess I was wrong about you and Marah. You're not just evil, you're scum. You might even be worse than Lothor, and yet you still want to curry favor with him. I guess they're right when they say some people just want to be told what to do with the rest of their lives. We gave you the chance to live your OWN lives, to make your own decisions, and this is how you want to live life? Scurrying around for Lothor, trying to be his favorite? What a life, huh- you have your own blasted futures in your hands and you won't do anything to change your own lives! You really want to be good- then do something for yourselves! Goodness starts within you- it can't be handed to you!"

Sean collapsed back down to one knee, and then he looked up as the monsters got closer… and closer…

"…no one has the right to tell us how to live our lives."

Beevil and Weevil turned. Kapri and Marah were facing them, eyes full of tears, and faces full of anger. Sean noted that their strange headgear each had a crack in it, and occasionally, it would emit a green spark. Both girls reached up and pulled the headgear off, and shook their heads as green energy left from their heads, and went streaking off into the sky. Kapri's hair changed back to blonde as she looked over at the Rangers.

"We're making our own path through life… and we'll show you just how much good is within us."

They each produced a small device, with the same styling as the devices attached to the monsters.

"Tell Lothor… we know he didn't have any nieces- or any relatives besides his brother. Also-"

Both girls turned a dial on their remotes and hit a button, sending Beevil and Weevil into the air while their bodies filled with energy. Soon, it was too much for them, and they rose up high and exploded, blue tendrils of energy lashing the air as the falling parts became atomized due to the energy.

"WE QUIT!" Kapri yelled up to the heavens, discarding the remote as Marah threw hers away before running over to Dustin and giving him a hug.

The other rangers couldn't find anything to say, but Sean walked over and picked up Kapri's discarded headgear, and looked inside it. The inside, where it would have been touching her skin, was covered in circuitry that still exuded green energy.

A massive laser bolt hitting the ground near them interrupted anything else.

"Um, I think this must be Lothor's severance package… you know, the 'flaming parachute'?" Shane commented. Another bolt fell, this one closer. And that was when the air parted and a dimensional hole opened up.

"Sean! Over here!" That was a voice he hadn't been expecting to hear for a while, and when Kapri and Marah yelled it at the same time, something gave inside his mind.

"SENSEI!"

All tumbled through the hole, back to Ninja Ops. Sensei Dawn (really the Sage Illumina) looked up at the sky and spat.

"You couldn't hit the broad side of a Zord with that thing, greaseball!" she yelled, and then made a rude gesture up to the sky as she stepped through the portal, it closing behind her.

**Ninja Ops**

If one didn't know any better, they would almost say it was a celebration of sorts.

"Sean, you amaze me sometimes. I knew you were good, but I never dreamed that you'd find the ruins of the Academy even WITH my mental block on you. But not only have you done that- you found two I had assumed were lost to us for eternity."

Sean was blushing- not only was he not used to this much praise being heaped on him, but the others had been giving him and Dustin all the praise they could handle. Dustin was off with Marah, showing her around, and Kapri sat talking with Tori, laughing about life in general.

"Sensei… it is good to see you, but… my father wishes to speak with you…" Cam started, a little uneasy, but Dawn saw right through him.

"I know about your father's furry little problem. His mind is still intact, and at the very least, he can say he's lost a little weight finally. Let him out."

Cam turned around, and when he turned back, he was holding Sensei.

"It's good to see you, Wantanabe. You finally grew some hair, too. But let's get to the point. Sean, bring that box over here. Put the papers on the table, and everything but- yes, that's right."

She turned to the others as Sean stacked the papers. "He's a good ninja, his heart is in the right place… but sometimes I get the feeling his head is elsewhere…" There was a small laugh as Sean brought the box over.

"All right, you two. Front and center." Kapri and Marah stepped forward, back in their 'regular' clothes. They'd changed, taken their old outfits out back, and apparently used some kind of energy cannon to launch their old equipment into the space between the timelines (apparently Illumina had helped them do it, and had enjoyed it immensely).

Lifting the violet morpher out of the box, she reached out and wrapped the straps around Kapri's wrist.

"Kapri… dear child, I have missed you. Your skills, though they were misused by the slimeball in the paper airplane, are fully yours to help with now. I grant you the Starlight Academy's Night Morpher, and when it is done, the Owlzord. Your color is violet."

Kapri stepped back and shot Sean a smile. That had apparently been why she'd been so focused on him- as the mind control band had started to fail, she'd been seeking him out to answer her own questions as much as she could under the band's control. But after getting blown up by Beevil and Weevil, the band had broken, and everything had been flooding back- about how she and Marah had left on a journey to the Wind Academy to acquire one last piece to bring their defenses up… and how they'd found themselves captured by Lothor and placed under mind control.

"Marah, it's your turn. Step over here, dear." Marah came bounding forward, full of excitement. She'd been looking forward for this for a while now, and even if it had been delayed by a few months or so by Lothor, she held her hand out while Dawn buckled the morpher around it.

"Marah, your skills, energy, and bright personality have been long absent from our ranks. But with your return, everything looks brighter. I grant you the Starlight Academy's Daylight Morpher, and when it is completed, the Butterflyzord. Your color is pink."

Marah and Kapri leaped at each other, and started laughing happily, showing off their new morphers to everyone.

"Tell you what- we still have those old hunks of junk you two were using when you last came down… I estimate we could pull everything we need for the Owl and Butterfly Zords from them. Give me a few days, and we'll REALLY give him a headache. I also want to look at your weapons and everything- this is a HUGE opportunity!" Cam was excited, and Tori was apparently right beside him, enjoying it as Cam kept looking over the plans and making notes on his computer.

Sean looked at his friends, and at the two new additions. At least this would put one of his dreams to rest.

Author's Note: Two chapters in a week. I must be feeling good, huh? Anyways, yeah, it's a twist on the regular episode, but I didn't just want to make them Rangers- I always had to ask myself every time I watched Ninja Storm, "Who's their mother and father?" The show never really delved into their past all that much, so I got to thinking, maybe they weren't nieces at all. That opened up one big possibility- the whole Starlight Academy angle.

Anyways, do the usual- read, review.

-Comet Warrior


	8. Shimazu returns, Part 1

**Power Rangers: First Omega By: Comet Warrior**

**Act One: Azure Cove**

**Chapter Eight: Shimazu Returns, Part 1**

**(Disclaimer: I only own OCs. Everything else belongs to Saban or whoever owns the license.)**

**Ninja Ops**

A week had passed since they had welcomed the two Starlight Ninjas back home, and even Sensei realized that Ops was starting to get a little more busy. They'd had to break out another piece of the low table that had been in storage for a few years, and along with more cushions, nine Rangers now were present at the table.

The girls were busy talking amongst each other- and Sean gave an easy, quiet smile. It was nice to not have to worry about either of them trying to take their heads off, and the Bradleys were falling all over themselves assembling two more Tsunami Cycles.

'At the rate they're going, they'll be master mechanics in no time.' Sean cracked to himself, and leaned back, listening to his back adjust itself. Training that day hadn't been easy- it had been team against team, and they'd found their weaknesses sure enough.

As a team, the Starlights exhibited a weakness for being caught up close and personal. Sean's own style was more the 'hit-and-run' variety- if he couldn't keep moving, he was going to be knocked around something fierce- as Shane had done when they'd trained against the Wind ninja.

Against the Thunders and Samurai, they'd fared a little better, and found out a few things they needed to work on. Kapri's hand-to-hand skills were a little rusty, Marah needed to learn to deliver more power to her strikes, and Sean needed to learn, apparently, to settle down.

"Whew… that really brings back some memories. Sensei would have laughed at these workouts, though." Marah dropped onto her cushion, emblazoned with a pink version of the Starlight emblem- which coincidentally, happened to be right next to Dustin's and Sean's.

"Tell me about it. Shane knocked me around pretty good. If I don't learn to settle down, someone's going to hand me my head." Sean looked over at Marah and shook his head as he remembered the staccato beat her little fists and feet had thumped out against Blake. If she got some power behind them, she'd be a force to be reckoned with.

Soon, all of the Rangers had dropped into their cushions- with Sensei at the head of the table, it was Shane, Dustin, Marah, Sean, and Kapri on one side, with Cam, Tori, Blake, and Hunter on the other.

"Hey, guys! The Owlzord and Butterflyzord should be finished by the end of the day. I'm *this* close to figuring out all those discs that Sean found in the Cougarzord when he found it. I even have some old scrap left." Cam slid his laptop down to the Starlights, and all three of them grinned at seeing the Zords coming together. The Owlzord was almost done- there was just the talons and the detail on the wings to complete- and the Butterflyzord was in the same condition- the machines were slowly assembling a pattern of scales on the wings that hid a selection of explosives.

"Looks like we'll finally be able to start earning our keep around here…" Sean looked over as Kapri traced the outline of the Owlzord on the screen. Her hair was in a simple braid, one he remembered from his days at the Starlight Academy. Marah had hers up in twin tails, and she looked longingly at the giant metal butterfly.

A small voice cleared its throat, and they quickly slid the laptop back to Cam as Sensei began to speak.

"Lothor may have lost some of his power, but there are still too many unknowns we have to deal with. Such as that mystery gentleman who has apparently joined his cause."

"We never learned his name. Then again, we always made an excuse never to be too close to him. I don't care if you're evil or not, that guy is just plain SCARY." Kapri shuddered, then looked over the table at her former enemies. "He's the one that did the finishing work on those hunks of junk we fought you in. I don't think he's out for anyone other than himself."

"That may be true… so we will take precautions. Two more rooms have been cleared here, and if you go into town, I want somebody with you. I do not doubt Lothor will try to retaliate against either of you." Sensei leapt across the desk and stopped in front of the Starlights.

"You must all remain cautious. Losing one of you would be a disaster."

"…is this because of that threat Sensei made before she went back to where she was hiding? The one about a bucket of hair remover, a treadmill, and a big mean dog?" Sean grinned as Sensei blinked.

"I had almost forgotten about the treadmill. But yes, in this day and age, ninja are valuable."

"Don't worry, Sensei. We're going into town to show them around- maybe stop by Storm Chargers and relax for a while." They'd almost had to tie large rocks to Dustin's feet to keep him from just floating away on feelings of happiness.

Sensei nodded, and the group was suddenly a blur of motion as nine streaks zipped out the front door.

**Blue Bay Harbor – Storm Chargers**

As the television blared, Sean watched as Kapri and Marah looked transfixed. Apparently, they'd managed to get basic cable on the Black Ship, and had followed this show religiously. It turned out that most of the Rangers were active fans of the show.

Dustin hummed along to the theme song as snacks were opened- a few bags of healthy snack samples Kelly was thinking of selling. Sean stuck his hand in a bag of organic banana chips and munched a couple as the others started talking about their favorite acts from the last show.

"Hi there, couch potatoes! Stu Starmaker here, and this is the place where dreams become reality- Totally Talented!" The announcer on the television cried out, and gestured to the sign that hung above the stage.

"Twenty lucky contestants get to come and try their luck, but only one of them gets to go to Hollywood with a chance to live their dream!"

There was a soft click, and the television turned off. Kelly had apparently found six people watching her television, and came over to see what the big draw was. The others started moaning and whining about the television being turned off, when Kelly held up a hand.

"This is an _action sports_ store. There will be NO trash TV viewing here. Sorry…" She walked back to the office, and there was assorted mutterings.

"Sheesh, when did she start cracking the whip on you guys?" Sean asked, and nobody answered.

Blake and Hunter strolled in, and took one look at the screen.

"Hey, where's Stu?" Blake asked, and Sean pointed across the store to where Kelly was unloading more organic food bars.

"Well, I was sick of watching it, anyways." Hunter added, and Dustin sat forward a bit. "Hey, you didn't just bag on Stu, did you?"

"No- I just said I was sick of watching it, but not of being on it!" Blake produced a poster from his pocket as Hunter continued. "They're looking for new stars- we try out next week!"

"Hey, maybe we should try out too!" Marah chirped up, and suddenly it was a storm of everyone calling out everyone else on why they should try out for it. Apparently Shane had a decent voice, Dustin could play the saxophone, and the three girls found they shared a passion for dancing.

They immediately leapt up and took off, starting to talk about how they had to suddenly practice.

Sean sat there, watching with bemusement as the others took off, and Hunter and Blake looked at him.

"What, you don't want a piece of the action, Sean?" Hunter asked, and Sean quirked a smile.

"Nah. I can't sing, can't dance, can't do much of anything. Besides, I'm just here for two things- making stupid jokes and driving the big orange kitty."

**Ninja Ops**

Later, Sean was sitting at the low table, sipping a cup of hot tea and quietly reading a sports magazine as he heard someone come down the stairs into Ops. Carrying a wooden box, Cam had to dodge a singing Shane, a sax-playing Dustin, and avoid a dancing Tori, Kapri, and Marah as he walked over to the low table.

"…what's going on here?" he asked Sean, and in response, he slid the flyer over to Cam. Cam rolled his eyes as he looked at the flyer, then tried to get his dad's attention. He had to tug on the headphones Sensei was wearing, but eventually he managed to get everyone's attention.

"Dad, I got it. Can we open it?"

Sensei shook his head, however. "Only in case of an extreme emergency. What is in that container is far too powerful to be used otherwise."

Cam shrugged, and parked the case up near the scroll rack. Then he sat down and watched as the others filtered out, intent on practicing their own acts. He sat down at the mainframe, and started to finish the final calibrations on the Starlight Zords.

"Mind if I watch the local news?" Sean asked him, and at a nod, he hit a few keys, and the news started playing in the monitor closest to Sean.

"…and with the three strange wolf-like figures sighted in the forests around the city, authorities advise people to stay close to the city until the mystery surrounding these three can be solved."

"Guess our downtime's over…" Sean muttered as he looked at the screen. The camera seemed to be running from the figures, and there was a bit of a jolt as the person holding the camera got into a van and then focused again as the van left the figures in the dust, tearing out of there.

**Mobile Command Center – Just Outside Town**

"So where are the Thunders?" Cam asked the horde of Rangers- the semi really hadn't been built for seven rangers in the back, and everyone was trying to not step on each others' toes in the back of the semi.

"Totally secret talent show practice. As in, they wouldn't tell us. Has the scanner picked up those wolf-things yet?"

Cam looked back at Tori. "Not yet. I think we'd better do a little patrolling, though. I'll call for them if we need them."

The scanner suddenly started beeping, and Cam hit a few buttons that caused the truck to roll to a stop. "I think that's them. Come on, let's go look."

Seven rangers piled out of the truck, and began to explore. It wasn't long before sounds could be heard behind them.

"Guess word travels fast. I think they're right behind us." Sean said under his breath, trying to not give it away. Shane listened for a second, and then turned around as three figures broke out of the bush.

'Well, I guess you could call them 'wolves', but I'd wager about anything that the bad ninja in the sky has something to do with this…' he thought as they came closer.

"Time for some obedience training…" Shane said as he stepped forward. All seven produced their morphers.

"Ready? Ninja Storm!"

"Samurai Storm!"

"Starlight Storm!"

"RANGER FORM! HA!" they all cried out, and the air was suddenly thick with transforming rangers.

Kapri found herself standing in a forest backlit with fireflies as she leapt up into a flip, sections of her uniform breaking away to reveal a violet version of the Starlight Ranger suit, with a crescent moon on her chest. After she landed, a cloud of fireflies buzzed around her head, forming her helmet.

Marah knelt in a field full of flowers, holding a pink rose. She stood up and tossed the rose into the air as the wind picked up, swirling flower petals around her as her Ranger suit appeared on her, the rose falling from above and breaking apart into energy that formed her helmet, a pink version of the Starlight suit, with a stylized sun upon it.

"Ninja Ranger Power!" they all cried, and the battle begun.

There were three of the… wolf-things (Sean didn't really know what else to call them), and between seven Rangers, that left the Starlights against one, Shane and Tori against another, and Dustin and Cam against the third. Pulling swords, the Rangers rushed in, and Sean found himself constantly striking out at an enemy who didn't seem to be where his blades were.

"Blasted- stand still, why don't you?" he snapped, and the wolf responded by ducking out of his way, allowing Marah to come in from behind with her kick to knock Sean away, who stumbled into a onrushing Kapri. Pulling themselves up, they joined the other rangers in time to see the wolf-things suddenly gain a burst of speed and turn into streaks, and soon they were among the Rangers, blasting back and forth, using their spikes and claws to strike each of them multiple times.

Finally, they bounced away, allowing them to return to their feet.

"Uhmmmm… suggestions, anyone?" Shane asked.

"Rolled-up newspaper?" Dustin suggested.

"One of those electric collars?" Tori asked.

Sean opened his mouth, about ready to suggest a squirt-bottle, but blasts of energy hit the ground in front of the wolf-things, and they hesitated for a moment as the Thunder Rangers finally burst upon the scene.

"Looks like we have some bad dogs…" Blake breathed, and at being outnumbered three to one, the wolf-things finally split.

"…I really, really hope next time we have a plan to deal with those guys. Rushing in is just going to end up giving them nine new chew toys- and it's hard enough to wash my hair without having to get nine gallons of slobber out of it." Tori looked at Marah and nodded, and they all went back to the truck and back to Ops.

**Ninja Ops**

It had been a run for the history books as soon as they'd got back. Having been selected to run for dinner, however, Sean and Tori could only wait as the Chinese place filled their massive order.

"Hey… do you think we could stop and talk somewhere…?" Sean looked back- Tori was just standing there, toeing the ground of the Chinese take-out place's floor. Checking on how long it would be for their order- apparently the new cook had burned an entire pot full of sweet-and-sour sauce, and it would be about twenty minutes before three of their meals could be filled, they both slipped into a booth.

"Ummm… this is hard to say, but Sean… what would you do if you were attracted to someone… but they didn't seem to think of you at all in that regard?"

'Well, well, well… maybe…? Nah, couldn't be…'Sean tried very hard to keep the hope out of his voice as he answered. "Depends. Who is it? Shane?"

"No… not Dustin, either. He and Marah are so… joyful together. "

"Joyful's putting it mildly. Hunter?"

"Not really… I mean, he's a good friend, but he's been exchanging letters with a girl he met at the ninja movie festival. Some red-head."

"Blake?"

She seemed to take a deep breath, and then looked away.

"…at first, he was. But lately, he just seems so wrapped up in his ninja training… he's just been growing so distant. But now… we're just friends. He's okay with that, as far as I know. We gave it a chance, and there might have been something different if we weren't so different."

Two left. Sean mentally flipped a coin, deciding which direction she was going to go.

'Is it me? Please say it's me, we're perfect for each other! Come on… pleasepleasepleaseplease-'

"Let me guess- Cam?" Tori blushed, and a small smile spread across her face.

'Well… I guess it's for the best…'he thought, as Tori chuckled quietly.

"Sorry, Sean. You're definitely a friend- but I've known Cam for a long time- ever since we began ninja training."

"Yeah… so, what's wrong?"

"He's just so… oblivious. He's focused on everything but those around him. The computer in Ops… we almost had to drag him away a few times just so he gets some sunlight and social interaction. He's just so wrapped up in his work…"

"Well… Tori, have you ever just thought that maybe he just doesn't know how to tell you? He's also got a lot on his plate, what with his uncle trying to conquer the planet, and having to support nine Rangers worth of Zords and who knows how many other weapons and tools."

Tori looked over as the counter guy put three huge bags of food up.

"But what should I do? Just come out and tell him?"

"…I'd just say you have to work your feelings into something he's going to see. He's smart- he'll figure it out. Just be creative and he'll understand."

Hoisting one bag by herself, Tori motioned to the other bags and gave Sean a one-armed hug as he passed by her.

"Thanks for the thought, Sean- but I have a feeling you were meant for someone else- give it time. These things just need to be sorted out."

'Yeah, Tori. Just tell my wounded pride and everything else that.' Sean thought from behind an easy smile.

Later, after they had managed to return, Cam had already managed to find out just what they were up against.

"While you guys were out practicing, I had to run an errand for Dad to the Asian Art Museum. They had some kind of artifact that the museum wanted us to hold onto- apparently the curator is a graduated ninja. Anyways, Zurgane and that creepy guy showed up to take it, too. There was a small fight, but I was able to get away from the both of them. But this is the thing I saw standing in the corner."

He dropped a large book on the table, among the rice and the fortune cookies, and pointed a figure out. Sean peered over and started to snicker.

"We're chasing a runaway clown? Isn't that more of a job for the guys in the white suits instead of the guys in the ninja suits?"

"I doubt you would be making such remarks if you would ever have to face him in battle. This is Shimazu, an ancient warlord. What Cam must have seen at the museum was an ancient mask, containing his spirit."

"So what does he have to do with those rabid rejects?" Blake asked, and Sean found himself nodding.

"It says here that Shimazu used to terrorize local villages as his favorite pastime. He'd use these creatures called 'Wolfblades' to really run them around." Cam turned the page of the book, and kept reading.

"So why is he here right now, running wild on Blue Bay with his wolf-things?" Hunter asked as he tossed aside an old rag, wiping coolant off his hands.

"I told you that Zurgane and that guy were at the museum? If he's got enough power to drop the three Starlights into a dimensional pit and submerge the entrance a few miles down in solid rock, he might have enough power to reawaken a few-thousand year old ninja warlord spirit." Cam pulled back from the book, digging into a container of rice.

"Great. So now do we not only have Lothor and his crazy crew running around, now we have a two-thousand year-old kabuki dude and his three pet wolves running loose in the city. Where do we begin?" Shane asked, and Sean shook his head.

'What are we supposed to do with these? If the Wolfblades can run over seven Rangers with ease, we're going to be in trouble if they ever grow large.'

"Shane brings up a good point. If it truly was his henchmen that brought him back to life, there is a very good possibility that Shimazu has already aligned with Lothor."

They all had to stop eating as the mainframe started beeping.

"Well, no sign of Shimazu, but we've got Zurgane down in the city. Shane, Hunter, think you can handle him?" The two scarlet Rangers looked at each other, then at Cam and nodded.

"Dustin, Tori, Blake, you guys go out into the city and see if you can draw out the Wolfblades. Sean, Kapri, Marah, stay here in reserve. It's obvious Lothor's goons will have a bone to pick with the three of you, so it's best if you wait until you're needed as to not give someone a free shot at you."

"C'mon, Cam, we can handle ourselves…" Sean started, but a furry paw tapping him on the nose caused him to stop.

"Cameron is correct, Sean. Remember your training- your need to rush into battle could put you and your friends into great danger." Sensei paced back to the head of the table, and the three Starlights slowly sat back down on their cushions.

The six standing Rangers morphed, and headed out- five to their bikes and Cam to the Zord Bay to monitor everything from the Samurai Star Chopper.

**Author's Note:** To borrow an overused quote from Monty Python, "I'm not dead yet!" I know it's been months, but I've been holding my nose to the proverbial grindstone to power through a very tough semester at school. French is not easy.

Anyways, this has been sitting on my hard drive for a few months, and I just decided to finish it up. I'm not a hundred percent happy with it, but at the same time, I just wanted to get something up.

Anyways, if you spot the shout-out to an author I owe a lot to (mostly for getting me back in the writing mood with their stories) in the story, well, you get a cookie. Not to mention, we really are coming toward the end of Sean's stay in the Azure Cove timeline. One of the things I really don't know what to do next is what timeline to go to next. There are lots of them, but I honestly don't know where to start! Throw me a timeline and a reason, and I might just take you up on it!

I know it's been a while, but at the same time, read/review/suggest!


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